''Kontikia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 native from islands in the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

region, but several species have been introduced elsewhere.

Description

The genus ''Kontikia'' includes planarians of elongate body, with a creeping sole that occupies one to two thirds of the body width. The mesenchymal musculature includes well-developed longitudinal muscles forming a ring zone around the intestine. The copulatory apparatus may or may not have a distinct penis papilla, depending on the degree of contraction of the reproductive structures. This led to an initial classification of specimens without a distinct penis papilla in another genus, ''Parakontikia''.

Genetics

The complete mitochondrial genome of '' Kontikia ventrolineata'' (= ''Parakontikia ventrolineata'') was described in 2020. It displays common unusual characteristics shared with ''

Platydemus manokwari ''Platydemus manokwari'', also known as the New Guinea flatworm, is a species of large predatory land flatworm. Native to New Guinea, it has been accidentally introduced to the soil of many countries, including the United States. It was als ...

'', such as its colinearity, an overlap between '' ND4L'' and '' ND4'' genes and an unusually long ''

cox2 Cytochrome c oxidase II is a protein in eukaryotes that is encoded by the MT-CO2 gene. Cytochrome c oxidase subunit II, abbreviated COXII, COX2, COII, or MT-CO2, is the second subunit of cytochrome c oxidase. It is also one of the three mitoc ...

'' gene.

Species

The genus ''Kontikia'' includes the following species: *'' Kontikia andersoni'' Jones, 1981 *'' Kontikia ashleyi'' (Fyfe, 1953) *'' Kontikia assimilis'' (von Graff, 1899) *'' Kontikia atrata'' (Steel, 1887) *'' Kontikia bulbosa'' Sluys, 1983 *'' Kontikia canaliculata'' (von Graff, 1899) *'' Kontikia chapmani'' (Ogren & Kawakatsu, 1988) *'' Kontikia circularis'' (Fyfe, 1956) *'' Kontikia cookiana'' (Schröder, 1924) *'' Kontikia coxii'' (Fletcher & Hamilton, 1888) *'' Kontikia cyanea'' (Fyfe, 1956) *'' Kontikia forsterorum'' (Schröder, 1924) *'' Kontikia insularis'' (Prudhore, 1949) *'' Kontikia kenneli'' (von Graff, 1899) *'' Kontikia lyra'' (Steel, 1901) *'' Kontikia marrineri'' (Dendy, 1911) *'' Kontikia melanochroa'' (Steel, 1901) *'' Kontikia nasuta'' (Loman, 1890) *'' Kontikia orana'' Froehlich, 1955 *'' Kontikia pelewensis'' (von Graff, 1899) *'' Kontikia quadrilineata'' (Haslauer-Gamish, 1982) *'' Kontikia ranuii'' (Fyfe, 1953) *'' Kontikia renschi'' (Haslauer-Gamish, 1982) *'' Kontikia traversii'' (Moseley, 1877) *'' Kontikia ventrolineata'' (Dendy, 1892) *'' Kontikia whartoni'' (Gulliver, 1879)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4991918 Geoplanidae Rhabditophora genera