''Supramontana'' 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 ...
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 from South America.
Description
The genus ''Supramontana'' is characterized by the presence of a cephalic retractor muscle not associated with cephalic glands. This muscle is similar to the one found in the genera ''
Issoca'' and ''
Luteostriata
''Luteostriata'' is a genus of land planarians from Brazil characterized by a yellow body with dark longitudinal stripes.
Description
The genus ''Luteostriata'' is characterized by the presence of a cephalic retractor muscle, which allows thos ...
'', but in ''Supramontana'' the organ lacks cephalic glands, which are present in the other two genera.
The
copulatory apparatus of ''Supramontana'' has a permanent penis papilla and a long common ovovitelloduct.
Etymology
The name ''Supramontana'' comes from the
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
words ''supra'' (on the top) and ''montanus'' (of the mountains). It is a reference to the type-locality of ''
Supramontana irritata'', the city of
São Francisco de Paula, in Southern Brazil, whose previous name was São Francisco de Paula ''de Cima da Serra'' (on the top of the mountains).
Species
There are two described species in the genus ''Supramontana'':
*''
Supramontana argentina''
Negrete et al., 2014
*''
Supramontana irritata''
Carbayo & Leal-Zanchet, 2003
Phylogeny
A molecular study on the phylogeny of the subfamily
Geoplaninae
Geoplaninae is a subfamily of land planarians endemic to the Neotropical region. Members of this family are sometimes referred to as the Neotropical land planarians. However, one species, '' Obama nungara'' has been introduced in Europe.
Descri ...
nested the genus ''Supramontana'' inside the genus ''Luteostriata''. The two genera formed a
monophyletic
In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria:
# the grouping contains its own most recent co ...
clade with the genus ''
Issoca''.
The clade is supported by at least one
synapomorphy
In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel Phenotypic trait, character or character state that has evolution, evolved from its ancestral form (or Plesiomorphy and symplesiomorphy, plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy sh ...
, the presence of a cephalic retractor muscle derived from the longitudinal cutaneous ventral musculature that anteriorly dissipates by detaching its fibers, making them open in a fan-like fashion towards the body margins.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q18386501
Geoplanidae
Rhabditophora genera