03688nas a2200289   4500008004100000020001400041245017000055210006900225260001500294300001000309490000600319520277400325653001403099653002003113653001103133653002703144653001903171653003203190653002003222100002203242700001803264700001803282700001703300700002303317700001903340856003903359       2018                        eng d  a2167-835900aGiant worms chez moi! Hammerhead flatworms (Platyhelminthes, Geoplanidae, Bipalium spp., Diversibipalium spp.) in metropolitan France and overseas French territories0 aGiant worms chez moi Hammerhead flatworms Platyhelminthes Geopla  c2018/05/22  ae46720 v63 aBackground
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 ‘black’ 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 Barthélemy, and Montserrat (Central America), and La Réunion island (off South-East Africa). For B. vagum, observations include French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Montserrat, La Réunion, and Florida (USA). A probable new species, Diversibipalium sp. ‘blue,’ is reported from Mayotte Island (off South–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–west France, a small area located in the Department of Pyrénées-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.
10aBarcoding10aCitizen science10aFrance10aInvasive alien species10aLand planarian10aOverseas French territories10aPlatyhelminthes1 aJustine, Jean-Lou1 aWinsor, Leigh1 aGey, Delphine1 aGros, Pierre1 aThévenot, Jessica1 aRiutort, Marta  uhttps://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.467202170nas a2200193   4500008004100000020001400041245011600055210006900171300000800240520150100248653001601749653002001765653002101785653002601806653002001832100002401852700002901876856007101905       2016                        eng d  a0944-200600aPreference for different prey allows the coexistence of several land planarians in areas of the Atlantic Forest0 aPreference for different prey allows the coexistence of several   a - 3 a<p>AbstractLand planarians are recognized as important predators, yet studies on their feeding habits are usually restricted to invasive species. Thus, it is difficult to determine the real ecological role of this group in ecosystems and how their communities are structured. In the present study, we analyzed the diet of six co-occurring Neotropical land planarians and their success in capturing prey, based on experiments in the laboratory, in order to determine how they share resources in the same environment. We also calculated indices of food niche breadth and food niche overlap for land planarians for the first time. The diet of Luteostriata abundans comprises only woodlice and the diets of Obama ficki and Obama ladislavii are composed only of gastropods, while Paraba multicolor and Obama anthropophila feed on both gastropods and other land planarians. An invasive species recently found in Western Europe, Obama nungara, showed the highest food niche breadth, feeding on gastropods, earthworms and planarians. We found the highest niche overlap between O. anthropophila and P. multicolor. The results suggest that land planarians are frequent predators of woodlice and land gastropods in the Neotropical ecozone and thus are important for the maintenance of native ecosystems and for the control of invasive species. The coexistence of several species in the same habitat is possible due to the use of different species as main prey, which reduces interspecific competition.</p>
10aGeoplanidae10aLevins’ index10aPianka’s index10aPlanarian food niches10aPlatyhelminthes1 aBoll, Piter, Kehoma1 aLeal-Zanchet, Ana, Maria  uhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S094420061630021601692nas a2200253   4500008004100000022001400041245011600055210006900171300001400240490000900254520088600263653002301149653001301172653001301185653003001198653002001228653002301248653001501271100001801286700002301304700002801327700002201355856006101377       2016                        eng d  a1175-533400aTwo new species of freshwater flatworms (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida: Continenticola) from South American caves0 aTwo new species of freshwater flatworms Platyhelminthes Tricladi  a107–1210 v40923 a<p>The diversity of freshwater triclads in the Neotropical region is considered to be low, but extensive areas of South America remain almost unexplored. Herein we describe two cave-dwelling, new species of Girardia, one from a transition zone of the Cerrado and Caatinga phytophysiognomies and the other from the Cerrado phytophysiognomy. The species from the Cerrado-Caatinga transition is a troglobite, eyeless and whitish; the species from the Cerrado area is possibly a troglophile, since it shows heavily pigmented body and eyes. Each species is easily recognized by a unique combination of features in its external morphology and copulatory apparatus. The two new species of Girardia show a restricted distribution, even the troglophile, and occur in caves without legal protection. Therefore, they must be considered as vulnerable organisms in a conservation context.</p>
10aBrazilian savannah10aCaatinga10aGirardia10anew cave-dwelling species10aPlatyhelminthes10asubterranean fauna10aTricladida1 aSOUZA, STELLA1 aMORAIS, ANA, LAURA1 aBICHUETTE, MARIA, ELINA1 aLael-Zanchet, Ana  uhttp://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4092.1.602748nas a2200217   4500008004100000022001400041245010500055210006900160300001400229520208000243653002302323653002002346653002002366653001502386653001702401100001602418700001602434700001902450700002102469856004002490       2016                        eng d  a2045-775800aChromosome numbers in three species groups of freshwater flatworms increase with increasing latitude0 aChromosome numbers in three species groups of freshwater flatwor  an/a–n/a3 aPolyploidy in combination with parthenogenesis offers advantages for plasticity and the evolution of a broad ecological tolerance of species. Therefore, a positive correlation between the level of ploidy and increasing latitude as a surrogate for environmental harshness has been suggested. Such a positive correlation is well documented for plants, but examples for animals are still rare. Species of flatworms (Platyhelminthes) are widely distributed, show a remarkably wide range of chromosome numbers, and offer therefore good model systems to study the geographical distribution of chromosome numbers. We analyzed published data on counts of chromosome numbers and geographical information of three flatworm “species” (Phagocata vitta, Polycelis felina and Crenobia alpina) sampled across Europe (220 populations). We used the mean chromosome number across individuals of a population as a proxy for the level of ploidy within populations, and we tested for relationships of this variable with latitude, mode of reproduction (sexual, asexual or both) and environmental variables (annual mean temperature, mean diurnal temperature range, mean precipitation and net primary production). The mean chromosome numbers of all three species increased with latitude and decreased with mean annual temperature. For two species, chromosome number also decreased with mean precipitation and net primary production. Furthermore, high chromosome numbers within species were accompanied with a loss of sexual reproduction. The variation of chromosome numbers within individuals of two of the three species increased with latitude. Our results support the hypothesis that polyploid lineages are able to cope with harsh climatic conditions at high latitudes. Furthermore, we propose that asexual reproduction in populations with high levels of polyploidization stabilizes hybridization events. Chromosomal irregularities within individuals tend to become more frequent at the extreme environments of high latitudes, presumably because of mitotic errors and downsizing of the genome.10aGeographical range10aparthenogenesis10aPlatyhelminthes10apolyploidy10areproduction1 aLorch, Sven1 aZeuss, Dirk1 aBrandl, Roland1 aBrändle, Martin  uhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1969