This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on New Zealand Flatworm is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
| New Zealand flatworm | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||
| Arthurdendyus triangulatus (Dendy, 1894) |
||||||||||||
| Synonyms | ||||||||||||
|
Artioposthia triangulata |
The New Zealand flatworm (Arthurdendyus triangulatus) is a large flatworm native to New Zealand. It can vary from 5 mm in length when hatched to approximately 17 cm in mature adults. The ventral surface of the flatworm is a pale buff colour while the dorsal surface is dark brown. Young flatworms vary in colour from white to pale orange and develop their adult colouration as they grow.
During the day, flatworms can be found resting on the surface of soil underneath objects in close contact with the ground. They may also be found beneath the soil surface hunting for earthworms.
Reproduction involves the production of egg capsules of about 8 mm in length. The capsules are shiny, flexible and cherry red in colour at first and later darken to black after several days. After an unknown incubation period, several pale, tiny flatworms hatch out of the brittle capsule. One egg capsule is produced at a time with the bulge clearly visible in the dorsum of the adult worm.
Invasive species
It is an invasive species in Europe, feeding there almost exclusively on earthworms.1 This degrades soil quality. European earthworm predators are reluctant to eat it although cases of frogs and beetle larvae consuming flatworms have been recorded. It has been seen in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Faroe Islands. It might have arrived in the early 1960s, being first recorded in Belfast in 1963. The New Zealand flatworm is easily transported accidentally in plant pots in adult or egg form. They tend to be common in garden centres and may have arrived in the UK with exotic plants.
References
- ^ Boag, B, K A Evans, G W Yeates, P M Johns & R Nielson (1995). "Assessment of the global potential distribution of the predatory land planarian Artioposthia triangulata (Dendy) (Tricladida: Terricola) from ecoclimatic data". New Zealand Journal of Zoology 22: 311–318, http://www.rsnz.org/publish/nzjz/1995/76.pdf.
External links
- Central Science Laboratory (CSL), United Kingdom - information dedicated to the flatworm
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 1 November 2008, at 01:22.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "New Zealand Flatworm".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.