@article {1903,
	title = {Searching for shelter in a ferruginous cave? A new species of Pasipha from a plateau in the Brazilian savanna (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida)},
	journal = {ZooKeys},
	year = {2018},
	month = {2018/07/26},
	pages = {13 - 25},
	publisher = {Pensoft Publishers},
	abstract = {In a fauna survey in the eastern margin of Serra do Espinha{\c c}o Plateau, in an area belonging to the Brazilian savanna (Cerrado phytophysiognomy), a land flatworm was sampled in a ferruginous cave. Anatomical and histological analyses indicated that it belongs to a new species of the genus Pasipha, which is herein described. The new species shows an almost homogenous dark brown dorsal pigmentation, eyes spreading over the dorsal surface, a collar-shaped pharynx, and a prostatic vesicle with two portions separated by a canal. It differs from similar species mainly by anatomical and histological details of the ejaculatory duct, as well as male and female atria. The flatworm shows no troglomorphic traits and was collected once in the entrance zone of the cave. Hence, despite representing the first land flatworm species described from a Neotropical cave, we consider that its occurrence in the cave is probably occasional, using it as a shelter.},
	isbn = {1313-29891313-2970},
	url = {https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30100782},
	author = {Leal-Zanchet, Ana and Marques, Alessandro}
}
@article {1902,
	title = {Hidden diversity in forest soils: Characterization and comparison of terrestrial flatworm{\textquoteright}s communities in two national parks in Spain},
	journal = {Ecology and EvolutionEcology and EvolutionEcol Evol},
	volume = {8},
	year = {2018},
	note = {doi: 10.1002/ece3.4178},
	month = {2018/08/01},
	pages = {7386 - 7400},
	publisher = {John Wiley \& Sons, Ltd},
	abstract = {Abstract Terrestrial flatworms (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida, and Geoplanidae) belong to what is known as cryptic soil fauna of humid forests and are animals not easily found or captured in traps. Nonetheless, they have been demonstrated to be good indicators of the conservation status of their habitat as well as a good model to reconstruct the recent and old events affecting biodiversity. This is mainly due to their delicate constitution, their dependence on the integrity of their habitat, and their very low dispersal capacity. At present, little is known about their communities, except for some studies performed in Brazil. In this work, we analyze for the first time in Europe terrestrial flatworm communities. We have selected two protected areas belonging to the Red Espa{\~n}ola de Parques Nacionales. Our aims include performing a first study of the species richness and community structure for European terrestrial planarian species at regional and local scale. We evaluate the effect of type of forests in the community composition and flatworms? abundance, but also have into account the phylogenetic framework (never considered in previous studies) analyzed based on molecular data. We find differences in the species composition among parks, with an astonishingly high diversity of endemic species in the Parque Nacional de Picos de Europa and an extremely low diversity of species in the Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido. These divergent patterns cannot be attributed to differences in physical variables, and in addition, the analyses of their phylogenetic relationships and, for a few species, their genetic structure, point to a more probable historical explanation.},
	keywords = {Last Glacial Maximum, Microplana, molecular phylogenetics, refugia, soil ecology, species diversity},
	isbn = {2045-7758},
	url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4178},
	author = {{\'A}lvarez-Presas, Marta and Mateos, Eduardo and Riutort, Marta}
}
@inbook {1901,
	title = {Planarian Diversity and Phylogeny},
	booktitle = {Planarian Regeneration: Methods and Protocols},
	year = {2018},
	month = {2018//},
	pages = {1 - 56},
	publisher = {Springer New York},
	organization = {Springer New York},
	address = {New York, NY},
	abstract = {Hundreds of planarian species exist worldwide, representing a rich phenotypic diversity. This chapter presents an overview of the morphology and anatomy of various taxonomic groups of planarian flatworms, focusing on features enabling recognition and identification of the animals. The most recent view on the phylogenetic relationships of the planarians is presented, together with geographic distribution patterns of major groups of triclads. The chapter concludes with a brief methodological section outlining species identification on basis of anatomical features. In conjunction with the established laboratory model species, the phenotypic diversity of planarians provides rich opportunities for comparative studies, which this chapter aims to inspire.},
	isbn = {978-1-4939-7802-1},
	url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7802-1_1},
	author = {Sluys, Ronald and Riutort, Marta},
	editor = {Rink, Jochen C.}
}
@article {1899,
	title = {PlanMine 3.0{\textemdash}improvements to a mineable resource of flatworm biology and biodiversity},
	journal = {Nucleic Acids Researchnar},
	volume = {47},
	year = {2018},
	month = {2018},
	pages = {D812 - D820},
	abstract = {Flatworms (Platyhelminthes) are a basally branching phylum that harbours a wealth of fascinating biology, including planarians with their astonishing regenerative abilities and the parasitic tape worms and blood flukes that exert a massive impact on human health. PlanMine (http://planmine.mpi-cbg.de/) has the mission objective of providing both a mineable sequence repository for planarians and also a resource for the comparative analysis of flatworm biology. While the original PlanMine release was entirely based on transcriptomes, the current release transitions to a more genomic perspective. Building on the recent availability of a high quality genome assembly of the planarian model species Schmidtea mediterranea, we provide a gene prediction set that now assign existing transcripts to defined genomic coordinates. The addition of recent single cell and bulk RNA-seq datasets greatly expands the available gene expression information. Further, we add transcriptomes from a broad range of other flatworms and provide a phylogeny-aware interface that makes evolutionary species comparisons accessible to non-experts. At its core, PlanMine continues to utilize the powerful InterMine framework and consistent data annotations to enable meaningful inter-species comparisons. Overall, PlanMine 3.0 thus provides a host of new features that makes the fascinating biology of flatworms accessible to the wider research community.},
	isbn = {0305-1048},
	url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gky1070},
	author = {Rozanski, Andrei and Brandl, Holger and Moon, HongKee and Grohme, Markus A and Henry, Ian and Rink, Jochen C and Martin-Duran, Jose M and H{\"u}ttner, Katja and Bartscherer, Kerstin}
}
@article {doi:10.1111/jzs.12214,
	title = {Diversification and biogeographic history of the Western Palearctic freshwater flatworm genus Schmidtea (Tricladida: Dugesiidae), with a redescription of Schmidtea nova},
	journal = {Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research},
	volume = {56},
	number = {3},
	year = {2018},
	pages = {335-351},
	abstract = {Abstract The freshwater flatworm genus Schmidtea is endemic in the Western Palearctic region, where it is represented by only four species, thus contrasting with the high species diversity of the closely related genus Dugesia within Europe. Although containing an important model species in developmental and regeneration research, viz. Schmidtea mediterranea, no evolutionary studies on the genus Schmidtea have been undertaken. For the first time, we present a well-resolved molecular phylogenetic tree of the four species of the genus, inferred on the basis of two molecular markers, and provide also the first detailed morphological account of Schmidtea nova. The phylogenetic tree generated corroborates an earlier speciation hypothesis based on karyological data and points to chromosomal rearrangements as the main drivers of speciation in this genus. The high genetic divergence between the four species, in combination with previous dating studies and their current geographic distribution, suggests that Schmidtea could have originated in Laurasia but lost most of its diversity during the Oligocene. Thus, its present distribution pattern may be the result of the expansion of three of its four relictual species over Europe, probably after the Pleistocene glaciations. Our detailed morphological study of S.~nova revealed that it shows a number of remarkable features: interconnected testis follicles, parovaria, an ejaculatory duct exiting into the primary as well as the secondary seminal vesicle by means of a nipple, and the wall of the distal section of the ejaculatory duct being sclerotic or chitinized.},
	keywords = {Biogeography, molecular phylogeny, Schmidtea, speciation, taxonomy},
	doi = {10.1111/jzs.12214},
	url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jzs.12214},
	author = {Leria, Laia and Sluys, Ronald and Riutort, Marta}
}
@article {1894,
	title = {Giant worms chez moi! Hammerhead flatworms (Platyhelminthes, Geoplanidae, Bipalium spp., Diversibipalium spp.) in metropolitan France and overseas French territories},
	journal = {PeerJ},
	volume = {6},
	year = {2018},
	month = {2018/05/22},
	pages = {e4672},
	abstract = {Background
Species of the genera Bipalium and Diversibipalium, or bipaliines, are giants among land planarians (family Geoplanidae), reaching length of 1 m; they are also easily distinguished from other land flatworms by the characteristic hammer shape of their head. Bipaliines, which have their origin in warm parts of Asia, are invasive species, now widespread worldwide. However, the scientific literature is very scarce about the widespread repartition of these species, and their invasion in European countries has not been studied.
Methods
In this paper, on the basis of a four year survey based on citizen science, which yielded observations from 1999 to 2017 and a total of 111 records, we provide information about the five species present in Metropolitan France and French overseas territories. We also investigated the molecular variability of cytochrome-oxidase 1 (COI) sequences of specimens.
Results
Three species are reported from Metropolitan France: Bipalium kewense, Diversibipalium multilineatum, and an unnamed Diversibipalium {\textquoteleft}black{\textquoteright} species. We also report the presence of B. kewense from overseas territories, such as French Polynesia (Oceania), French Guiana (South America), the Caribbean French islands of Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin and Saint Barth{\'e}lemy, and Montserrat (Central America), and La R{\'e}union island (off South-East Africa). For B. vagum, observations include French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barth{\'e}lemy, Saint Martin, Montserrat, La R{\'e}union, and Florida (USA). A probable new species, Diversibipalium sp. {\textquoteleft}blue,{\textquoteright} is reported from Mayotte Island (off South{\textendash}East Africa). B. kewense, B. vagum and D. multilineatum each showed 0\% variability in their COI sequences, whatever their origin, suggesting that the specimens are clonal, and that sexual reproduction is probably absent. COI barcoding was efficient in identifying species, with differences over 10\% between species; this suggests that barcoding can be used in the future for identifying these invasive species. In Metropolitan south{\textendash}west France, a small area located in the Department of Pyr{\'e}n{\'e}es-Atlantiques was found to be a hot-spot of bipaliine biodiversity and abundance for more than 20 years, probably because of the local mild weather.
Discussion
The present findings strongly suggest that the species present in Metropolitan France and overseas territories should be considered invasive alien species. Our numerous records in the open in Metropolitan France raise questions: as scientists, we were amazed that these long and brightly coloured worms could escape the attention of scientists and authorities in a European developed country for such a long time; improved awareness about land planarians is certainly necessary.
},
	keywords = {Barcoding, Citizen science, France, Invasive alien species, Land planarian, Overseas French territories, Platyhelminthes},
	isbn = {2167-8359},
	url = {https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4672},
	author = {Justine,Jean-Lou and Winsor,Leigh and Gey,Delphine and Gros,Pierre and Th{\'e}venot,Jessica},
	editor = {Riutort,Marta}
}
@article {1889,
	title = {Are Planaria Individuals? What Regenerative Biology is Telling Us About the Nature of Multicellularity},
	year = {2018},
	month = {2018/03/12},
	abstract = {Freshwater planaria (Platyhelminthes, Turbellaria, Tricladida) pose a challenge to current concepts of biological individuality. We review molecular and developmental evidence suggesting that mature intact planaria are not biological individuals but their totipotent stem cells (neoblasts) are individuals. Neoblasts within a single planarian body are, in particular, genetically heterogeneous, migratory, effectively immortal, and effectively autonomous. They cooperate to maintain the planarian body as an obligate environment but compete to make this environment maximally conducive to the survival of their own neoblast lineages. These results suggest that planaria have not fully completed the transition to multicellularity, but instead represent an intermediate form in which a small number of genetically-heterogeneous, reproductively-competent cells effectively {\textquotedblleft}farm{\textquotedblright} their reproductively-incompetent offspring.},
	isbn = {1934-2845},
	url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s11692-018-9448-9},
	author = {Fields, Chris and Levin, Michael}
}
