''Caenoplana variegata'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

land planarian Geoplanidae is a family of flatworms known commonly as land planarians or land flatworms. These flatworms are mainly predators of other invertebrates, which they hunt, attack and capture using physical force and the adhesive and digestive proper ...

. It was first described in 1888 as ''Geoplana variegata'' by Joseph James Fletcher and Alexander Greenlaw Hamilton. The currently accepted name is ''Caenoplana variegata'' although the name accepted by Australian authorities is ''Australopacifica variegata''. The type locality is somewhere in the County of Cumberland, New South Wales. Caenoplana variegata is considered an invasive species in the UK and Europe. It was first discovered in the UK in 2008. The species spread to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in 2014 and likely continued spreading from there to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, with first local sightings of individuals reported in September 2023 and February 2024 respectively.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3276162 Geoplanidae Platyhelminthes of Australia Taxa described in 1888 Taxa named by Joseph James Fletcher