Kontikia ventrolineata
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Kontikia ventrolineata , dorsal view, anterior end lower left |
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| Kontikia ventrolineata | ||||||||||||
| ( Dendy , 1892) |
Kontikia ventrolineata is a species of land planarians in the genus Kontikia found in Australia and Oceania , North America , Africa, and Europe .
The species is also known by the synonyms Parakontikia ventrolineata and Kontikia mexicana .
features
Kontikia ventrolineata has an oval to cylindrical body in cross section, which has a length of 1 to 5 centimeters and a width of 1 to 2 millimeters. The basic color is very dark, almost black. On the back there are two narrow, pale gray stripes close to the center line. On the belly side, four dark stripes run along the body, which are visible on a pale background color. There are many small eyes near the edges of the back side, which are barely noticeable on the dark surface.
distribution and habitat
The type specimen of Kontikia ventrolineata was discovered in Melbourne , Australia , but even then it was unclear whether the species originally came from the area. It is believed that the species originally came from Queensland in eastern Australia, but the origin could be in another area of the Indo-Pacific . It was probably introduced into different regions with ornamental and garden plants. So individuals of Kontikia ventrolineata have also been found in Spain , Ireland , France , New Zealand , the USA , South Africa and Great Britain . Many sites were in urban areas, nurseries or greenhouses.
During the day, the species was found in damp, dark places on the surface of the soil, for example under stones, plastic covers and under planters.
way of life
Kontikia ventrolineata prey on small snails and lobsters . It was also observed that they are the scavengers of crushed caterpillars of a dreamer and dead earthworms fed.
Reproduction is believed to be sexual . A small black egg cocoon is deposited, from which several young animals hatch after a few weeks.
Genetic examination
The complete mitochondrial genome of Kontikia ventrolineata was deciphered in 2020. Specimens collected in France were used in the investigation. It shows unusual similarities with Platydemus manokwari , such as colinearity , an overlap between MT-ND4L and MT-ND4 genes and an unusually long COX-2 gene.
Synonyms
The species Parakontikia ventrolineata was first described in 1892 by the British zoologist Arthur Dendy with individuals that were found in a nursery in Melbourne . Libbie Henrietta Hyman described Geoplana mexicana in 1939 using some juvenile individuals that were in a shipment of violets from Mexico to Texas , and later expanded the description with adult individuals found in California. In later investigations the species was transferred from the genus Geoplana to the genus Kontikia .
Until 1998, the two species Parakontikia ventrolineata and Kontikia mexicana were listed as two different species from two different genera. In studies of individuals collected in South Africa and Great Britain, it was found that the animals could be assigned to both species and that there were only minor differences in terms of the penile papilla.
The expression of the penile papilla was used to differentiate the genus Kontikia from the genus Parakontikia . This subdivision has been questioned, however, since the penile papilla is more pronounced depending on the stage of development and contraction. For this reason, species from Parakontikia are often viewed as synonyms for species of the genus Kontikia . A further conclusion was that the species Kontikia mexicana did not exist as an independent species in terms of the results and was integrated into the species Kontikia ventrolineata .
Even today, the synonym Parakontikia ventrolineata is often used in publications.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Hugh D. Jones, Peter M. Johns & Leigh Winsor: The proposed synonymy of Parakontikia ventrolineata (Dendy, 1892) and Kontikia mexicana (Hyman, 1939): what is a penis papilla? In: Hydrobiologia . tape 383 , 1998, pp. 91 , doi : 10.1023 / A: 1003478218873 .
- ↑ Robert E. Ogren , Masaharu Kawakatsu & Eudóxia Maria Froehlich : Additions and corrections of the previous land planarian indices of the world (Turbellaria, Seriata, Tricladida, Terricola) - Additions and corrections of the previous land planarian indices of the world - 5 . In: Bulletin of Fujis Women's College . tape 34 , 1996, pp. 87-93 .
- ↑ a b c d e Max Wade, Vicky Ames & Kelly McKee: Kontikia flatworms. In: nonnativespecies.org. GB non-native speciessecretariat, accessed July 20, 2021 .
- ↑ a b c d e f Romain Gastineau & Jean-Lou Justine: Complete mitogenome of the invasive land flatworm Parakontikia ventrolineata , the second Geoplanidae (Platyhelminthes) to display an unusually long cox2 gene . In: Mitochondrial DNA Part B . tape 5 , no. 3 , 2020, ISSN 2380-2359 , p. 2115-2116 , doi : 10.1080 / 23802359.2020.1765709 .
- ↑ Hugh Jones: ventrolineata Kontikia. In: nonnativespecies.org. GB non-native speciessecretariat, September 23, 2016, accessed July 20, 2021 .
- ↑ Robert E. Ogren: Redespription of the country geoplanid planarian Kontikia Mexicana (olim geoplana Mexicana Hyman) from the United States (turbellaria: Tricladida: Geoplanidae) . In: Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science . tape 64 , no. 1 , 1990, p. 23-28 . Digitized