''Geoplana'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
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 ...
s found in South America.
Taxonomic history
The genus ''Geoplana'' was erected in 1857 by
William Stimpson
William Stimpson (February 14, 1832 – May 26, 1872) was a noted American scientist. He was interested particularly in marine biology. Stimpson became an important early contributor to the work of the Smithsonian Institution and later, direc ...
and included most land planarians with several eyes distributed along the body.
[Stimpson, W. (1857). ''Prodromus descriptionis animalium evertebratorum quæ in Expeditione ad Oceanum, Pacificum Septentrionalem a Republica Federata missa, Johanne Rodgers Duce, observavit er descripsit. Pars I. Turbellaria Dendrocœla.'' Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 9:19-31.] Species with only two eyes were placed in the genus ''
Rhynchodemus
''Rhynchodemus'' is a genus of land planarians
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 ph ...
'', while species with a crescent-shaped head were placed in ''
Bipalium
''Bipalium'' is a genus of large predatory land planarians. They are often loosely called "hammerhead worms" or "broadhead planarians" because of the distinctive shape of their head region. Land planarians are unique in that they possess a "creep ...
''.
In the same year, apparently unaware of Stimpson's paper, the naturalist
Max Schultze
Max Johann Sigismund Schultze (25 March 1825 – 16 January 1874) was a German microscopic anatomist noted for his work on cell theory.
Biography
Schultze was born in Freiburg im Breisgau (Baden). He studied medicine at Greifswald and Berlin, and ...
, based on published information and new species collected in Brazil by the naturalist
Fritz Müller
Johann Friedrich Theodor Müller (31 March 1822 – 21 May 1897), better known as Fritz Müller, and also as Müller-Desterro, was a German biologist who emigrated to southern Brazil, where he lived in and near the German community of Blumenau, ...
, also erected a genus named ''Geoplana'', but included all land planarians in it.
[Schultze, M. and Müller, F. (1857). ''Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Landplanarien.'' Abhandlungen der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft zu Halle. 4:61-74.] However, Stimpson's system prevailed.
During most of the 20th century, many new land planarian species, mostly from Australia and South America, were placed in ''Geoplana''. In 1955,
Eudóxia Maria Froehlich
Eudóxia Maria Froehlich (21 October 1928 – 26 September 2015) was a Brazilian zoologist.
Life
Born in 1928, Eudóxia Maria de Oliveira Pinto was the daughter of Alice Alves de Camargo and the ornithologist Olivério Mário de Oliveira Pinto. ...
defined that ''Geoplana vaginuloides'' would be the
type-species of ''Geoplana'', as it was the first species listed by Stimpson.
[Froehlich, E. M. (1955). ''Sobre Espécies Brasileiras do Gênero Geoplana.'' Boletim da Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras da Universidade de São Paulo, Série Zoologia. 19:289-339.]
In 1990,
Robert E. Ogren
Robert Edward Ogren (February 9, 1922 – July 13, 2005) was an American zoologist.
Life
Ogren was born in 1922 in Jamestown, New York, son of David Paul and Mary Gladys (born Ahlstrom) Ogren. While in secondary school, he developed a strong int ...
and
Masaharu Kawakatsu
is a Japanese zoologist known for his studies on the taxonomy and ecology of planarians.
Life
Masaharu Kawakatsu was born in 1929 in the Asahi village, Kameoka town, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, son of Masakazu Kawakatsu, a squire of the villag ...
published a review of the classification of land planarians and divided ''Geoplana'' in four genera: ''Geoplana'', ''
Gigantea'', ''
Notogynaphallia
''Notogynaphallia'' is a genus of land planarians from South America.
Description
The genus ''Notogynaphallia'' is characterized by having a small-to-medium, slender body with nearly parallel margins. The eyes are arranged along the body marg ...
'' and ''
Pasipha''. ''Geoplana'' retained all species with dorsal testes, a protrusible penis and a female canal entering the genital antrum dorsally. Species with ventral testes, without a protrusible penis or with a female canal entering the genital antrum ventrally were placed in other genera.
[Ogren, R. E. and Kawakatsu, M. (1990). ''Index to the species of the family Geoplanidae (Turbellaria, Tricladida, Terricola) Part I: Geoplaninae.'' Bulletin of Fujis Women's College. 29: 79-166.]
During the 21st century, molecular studies revealed that ''Geoplana'' sensu Ogren & Kawakatsu was still heterogeneous. A study published in 2013 by Carbayo et al.,
based on molecular data, divided ''Geoplana'' in 6 genera: ''Geoplana'', ''
Barreirana'', ''
Cratera
A krater or crater ( grc-gre, , ''kratēr'', literally "mixing vessel") was a large two-handled shape of vase in Ancient Greek pottery and metalwork, mostly used for the mixing of wine with water.
Form and function
At a Greek symposium, kra ...
'', ''
Matuxia'', ''
Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
'', and ''
Paraba''. Only three species remained as ''Geoplana'',
along with several ''
incertae sedis''.
Current description
Currently, the genus ''Geoplana'' is characterized by having the features described by Ogren & Kawatasu (dorsal testes, a protrusible penis and a female canal entering the genital antrum dorsally) plus several others, such as a slender body with nearly parallel margins, a strongly convex dorsum, monolobulated eyes (i.e., simple and circular, with only one lobe), and a strong muscle tube around the intestine.
Species
The following species are currently recognised in the genus ''Geoplana'':
*''
Geoplana alterfusca''
*''
Geoplana arkalabamensis''
*''
Geoplana aymara''
*''
Geoplana beckeri''
*''
Geoplana bimbergi''
*''
Geoplana caleta''
*''
Geoplana cantuta''
*''
Geoplana caucaensis''
*''
Geoplana caya''
*''
Geoplana chalona''
*''
Geoplana chanca''
*''
Geoplana chilihua''
*''
Geoplana chita''
*''
Geoplana chiuna''
*''
Geoplana chulpa''
*''
Geoplana crawfordi''
*''
Geoplana cyanea''
*''
Geoplana doederleini''
*''
Geoplana duca''
*''
Geoplana excellentissima''
*''
Geoplana fragai''
*''
Geoplana fuhrmanni''
*''
Geoplana fusca''
*''
Geoplana gabriellae''
*''
Geoplana goetschi''
*''
Geoplana guacensis''
*''
Geoplana hina''
*''
Geoplana irua''
*''
Geoplana jandira''
*''
Geoplana lama''
*''
Geoplana lambaya''
*''
Geoplana lareta''
*''
Geoplana leucophryna''
*''
Geoplana mayori''
*''
Geoplana mirim''
*''
Geoplana mixopulla''
*''
Geoplana multipunctata''
*''
Geoplana nigra''
*''
Geoplana notophthalma''
*''
Geoplana pavani''
*''
Geoplana pichuna''
*''
Geoplana picta''
*''
Geoplana placilla''
*''
Geoplana pulchella''
*''
Geoplana quagga''
*''
Geoplana quenua''
*''
Geoplana quichua''
*''
Geoplana regia''
*''
Geoplana saima''
*''
Geoplana shapra''
*''
Geoplana takia''
*''
Geoplana talpa''
*''
Geoplana tamboensis''
*''
Geoplana taxiarcha''
*''
Geoplana tirua''
*''
Geoplana toriba''
*''
Geoplana ubaquensis''
*''
Geoplana unicolor''
*''
Geoplana vaginuloides''
*''
Geoplana valdiviana''
*''
Geoplana vicuna''
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q18520195
Geoplanidae
Rhabditophora genera