''Paraba franciscana'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals 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 ...

found in Brazil.

Description

''Paraba franciscana'' is a medium-sized land planarian with an elongate body reaching up to in length and in width while crawling. The dorsal surface has an homogeneously dark-grey to black color with a white median longitudinal stripe of about 8 to 12% of the body width. The ventral side is white to light-grey, usually with a median longitudinal light-grey stripe. The numerous eyes are distributed in a single row along the body margins in the first millimetres and posteriorly spread to the dorsum, usually occupying up to 30% of the body width on each side, but some eyes can be close to the median line.

Etymology

The specific epithet ''franciscana'' makes references to the municipality of São Francisco de Paula, where the species was first found.

Distribution

''Paraba franciscana'' is known from areas covered by

Araucaria moist forest The Araucaria moist forests, officially classified as mixed ombrophilous forest (Portuguese: "Floresta Ombrófila Mista") in Brazil, are a montane subtropical moist forest ecoregion. The forest ecosystem is located in southern Brazil and northeast ...

in northeast Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. It occurs in the

São Francisco de Paula National Forest The São Francisco de Paula National Forest ( pt, Floresta Nacional de São Francisco de Paula) is a national forest A state forest or national forest is a forest that is administered or protected by some agency of a sovereign or federated st ...

and in the

Aparados da Serra National Park The Aparados da Serra National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional de Aparados da Serra) is a national park located in the Serra Geral range of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina states in the south of Brazil, between 29º07’—29º15’ S and 50º01� ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q25095708 Geoplanidae Invertebrates of Brazil