Choeradoplana albonigra
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Platyhelminthes
Order:	Tricladida
Family:	Geoplanidae
Genus:	Choeradoplana
Species:	C. albonigra
Binomial name
Choeradoplana albonigra (Riester, 1938) Carbayo et al., 2013
Synonyms
Geoplana albonigra Riester, 1938 Notogynaphallia albonigra (Riester, 1938) Ogren & Kawakatsu, 1990

Choeradoplana albonigra is a species of land planarian belonging to the subfamily Geoplaninae.^[1] It is found in areas within the Atlantic Forest in Brazil, such as the Augusto Ruschi Biological Reserve, Desengano State Park, and the municipality of Teresópolis.^[2]

Description

Choeradoplana albonigra is a flatworm around 50–60 cm in length and 2–3 mm in width. It has a slender body with a very thin anterior tip and a pointed posterior tip. The base and ventral color of the body is traffic-white; the dorsal side is covered by a broad graphite-black band that darkens along its margins. In some, but not all, individuals, a thin jet-black stripe runs down the middle of the band. The extremities of the body, anterior and posterior, fade from traffic-white to a slightly orangish color.^[2]

It is distinguished from other members of Choeradoplana by its notable black band and white body, the extreme thinning of the anterior tip, no visible dilations separating the head from the body, a concave ventral side of the cephalic region lacking glandular cushions, the proximal third of the prostatic vesicle being outside of the penis bulb, a relatively long copulatory apparatus, lack of a penis papilla, and a funnel-shaped female atrium.^[2]

Etymology

The specific epithet of albonigra is derived from the Latin roots of albus and nigra, meaning "white" and "black" respectively, likely in reference to the species' characteristic colors.

References