''Paraparaba'' 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 from South America.

Description

Species of the genus ''Paraparaba'' have a slender body with nearly parallel margins while creeping. The largest specimens may reach about 8 cm in length. Both sides of the body are slightly convex. The

pharynx The pharynx (: pharynges) is the part of the throat behind the human mouth, mouth and nasal cavity, and above the esophagus and trachea (the tubes going down to the stomach and the lungs respectively). It is found in vertebrates and invertebrates ...

is cylindrical and the prostatic vesicle is extrabulbar. The copulatory apparatus has a permanent, protrusible, conical penis occupying the entire male cavity, which is unfolded, and the female cavity is rounded and filled with a multilayered

epithelium Epithelium or epithelial tissue is a thin, continuous, protective layer of cells with little extracellular matrix. An example is the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin. Epithelial ( mesothelial) tissues line the outer surfaces of man ...

Taxonomy

Species in the genus ''Paraparaba'' were first assigned to a genus named ''Paraba'', of which the chosen type species was ''Geoplana multicolor'' Graff, 1899. However, this was based on specimens that are not conspecific with the

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

of ''Geoplana multicolor''. An analysis of the holotype indicated that it matches the definition of the genus ''

Geoplana ''Geoplana'' is a genus of land planarians from South America. Taxonomic history The genus ''Geoplana'' was erected in 1857 by William Stimpson and included most land planarians with several eyes distributed along the body.Stimpson, W. (1857). ...

'' and not ''Paraba''. This made ''Paraba'' become a junior synonym of ''Geoplana'' and the new name ''Paraparaba'' was chosen to include species previously in ''Paraba''.

Etymology

''Paraparaba'' means multicolored, with many colors in the

Tupi language Old Tupi, Ancient Tupi or Classical Tupi () is a classical Tupian language which was spoken by the indigenous Tupi people of Brazil, mostly those who inhabited coastal regions in South and Southeast Brazil. In the words of Brazilian tupinol ...

. It is formed by a reduplication of the word ''Paraba'' meaning variegated, and alludes to the name of the species ''Geoplana multicolor'', which was originally chosen as the type species of ''Paraba''. The name could also be interpreted as coming from

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

''para'', beside, plus the name of the former genus ''Paraba''.

Species

The following species are recognised in the genus ''Paparaba'': *'' Paraparaba aurantia'' *'' Paraparaba bresslaui'' *''

Paraparaba caapora ''Paraparaba'' is a genus of land planarians from South America. Description Species of the genus ''Paraparaba'' have a slender body with nearly parallel margins while creeping. The largest specimens may reach about 8 cm in length. Both s ...

'' *''

Paraparaba cassula ''Paraparaba'' is a genus of land planarians from South America. Description Species of the genus ''Paraparaba'' have a slender body with nearly parallel margins while creeping. The largest specimens may reach about 8 cm in length. Both s ...

'' *''

Paraparaba franciscana ''Paraparaba franciscana'' is a species of land planarian found in Brazil. Description ''Paraba franciscana'' is a medium-sized land planarian with an elongated body reaching up to in length and in width while crawling. The dorsal surface ha ...

'' *'' Paraparaba gaucha'' *'' Paraparaba goettei'' *''

Paraparaba hortulana ''Paraparaba'' is a genus of land planarians from South America. Description Species of the genus ''Paraparaba'' have a slender body with nearly parallel margins while creeping. The largest specimens may reach about 8 cm in length. Both s ...

'' *'' Paraparaba iguassuensis'' *''

Paraparaba incognita ''Paraparaba'' is a genus of land planarians from South America. Description Species of the genus ''Paraparaba'' have a slender body with nearly parallel margins while creeping. The largest specimens may reach about 8 cm in length. Both s ...

'' *''

Paraparaba impositrix ''Paraparaba impositrix'' is a species of land planarian belonging to the subfamily Geoplaninae. It is found in areas of Atlantic Forest of Brazil and Argentina. Description ''Paraparaba impositrix'' has a dark-brown to black dorsal color with a ...

'' *''

Paraparaba pankaru ''Paraparaba'' is a genus of land planarians from South America. Description Species of the genus ''Paraparaba'' have a slender body with nearly parallel margins while creeping. The largest specimens may reach about 8 cm in length. Both s ...

'' *''

Paraparaba phocaica ''Paraparaba'' is a genus of land planarians from South America. Description Species of the genus ''Paraparaba'' have a slender body with nearly parallel margins while creeping. The largest specimens may reach about 8 cm in length. Both s ...

'' *''

Paraparaba piriana ''Paraparaba'' is a genus of land planarians from South America. Description Species of the genus ''Paraparaba'' have a slender body with nearly parallel margins while creeping. The largest specimens may reach about 8 cm in length. Both s ...

'' *''

Paraparaba preta ''Paraparaba'' is a genus of land planarians from South America. Description Species of the genus ''Paraparaba'' have a slender body with nearly parallel margins while creeping. The largest specimens may reach about 8 cm in length. Both s ...

'' *''

Paraparaba pseudogaucha ''Paraparaba'' is a genus of land planarians from South America. Description Species of the genus ''Paraparaba'' have a slender body with nearly parallel margins while creeping. The largest specimens may reach about 8 cm in length. Both s ...

'' *''

Paraparaba rubidolineata ''Paraparaba'' is a genus of land planarians from South America. Description Species of the genus ''Paraparaba'' have a slender body with nearly parallel margins while creeping. The largest specimens may reach about 8 cm in length. Both s ...

'' *''

Paraparaba smaragdina ''Paraparaba'' is a genus of land planarians from South America. Description Species of the genus ''Paraparaba'' have a slender body with nearly parallel margins while creeping. The largest specimens may reach about 8 cm in length. Both s ...

'' *''

Paraparaba suva ''Paraparaba'' is a genus of land planarians from South America. Description Species of the genus ''Paraparaba'' have a slender body with nearly parallel margins while creeping. The largest specimens may reach about 8 cm in length. Both s ...

'' *''

Paraparaba tapira ''Paraparaba'' is a genus of land planarians from South America. Description Species of the genus ''Paraparaba'' have a slender body with nearly parallel margins while creeping. The largest specimens may reach about 8 cm in length. Both s ...

'' *''

Paraparaba tata ''Paraparaba'' is a genus of land planarians from South America. Description Species of the genus ''Paraparaba'' have a slender body with nearly parallel margins while creeping. The largest specimens may reach about 8 cm in length. Both s ...

'' *''

Paraparaba tingauna ''Paraparaba'' is a genus of land planarians from South America. Description Species of the genus ''Paraparaba'' have a slender body with nearly parallel margins while creeping. The largest specimens may reach about 8 cm in length. Both s ...

'' *'' Paraparaba viricornuta''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18386539 Geoplanidae Rhabditophora genera