Endeavouria septemlineata ( Hyman, 1939 )

Suárez, Daniel, Pedrianes, Juan Ramón & Andújar, Carmelo, 2022, DNA barcoding reveals new records of invasive terrestrial flatworms (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida, Geoplanidae) in the Macaronesian region, Zootaxa 5129 (3), pp. 447-450 : 449

Endeavouria septemlineata ( Hyman, 1939)

Material examined: PORTUGAL: Madeira: Funduras , 32.748989°N, - 16.806857°W, 740 m, 7.IX.2019, 1 ex. (GenBank accession number OM 019324 ), C. Andújar leg., found in a laurel forest soil sample . SPAIN: Canary Islands, Tenerife: El Bailadero, 28.551440°N, - 16.194065°W, 405 m, 10.I.2022, 10 ex., D. Suárez leg., found in a pitfall trap laid on the laurel forest; Carretera El Bailadero , 28.543226ºN, - 16.219725ºW, 740 m, 10.I.2022, 8 exx., C. Andújar leg., found in pitfall traps laid on a laurel forest. La Palma : Camino El Brezal , 28.649035ºN, - 17.778564ºW, 305 m, 26.VIII.2009, 1 ex., J. Pedrianes obs.; 6.V.2012, 1 ex., J. Pedrianes obs.; Camino La Justa , 28.689071ºN, - 17.943783ºW, 650 m, 4.VII.2019, 6 exx. (GenBank accession number OM 019323 ), J. Matos leg., found in roots of beetroot ( Beta vulgaris ); Barranco de Juan Mayor , 28.688932ºN, - 17.776292ºW, 180 m, 1 ex., C. Lozano obs., found in a strawberry ( Fragaria sp. ) plantation .

Originally known from Hawaii, E. septemlineata is also present in the Cook Islands, Brazil, Tahiti, and Italy ( Justine et al. 2018a; Mori et al. 2022). This constitutes the first report for both Madeira and the Canary Islands. Sequences matched identically to all available sequences on GenBank ( Figure 1C ).

It is noteworthy that some specimens of O. nungara and E. septemlineata were found in well-preserved humid laurel forest. Recently, Lago-Barcia et al. (2020) found O. nungara in Azores in a natural area comprised of low scrubland and prairies. Caenoplana coerulea in Madeira was found in a scrubland near a beach. Although in the Canary Islands this species is predominantly found in anthropic areas, it has also been found in a subterranean ecosystem ( Suárez et al. 2018). Overall, this suggests that contrary to continental settings where land planarians are typically found in anthropic ecosystems, such as gardens or greenhouses ( Álvarez-Presas et al. 2014), in oceanic island systems invasive flatworms have the potential to extend their ranges into natural areas, thus posing a threat to endemic invertebrate fauna.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Maximum-likelihood tree of invasive terrestrial flatworms, based on COI sequences. Bootstrap values are presented only for main clades. Countries are indicated after GenBank accession number. Red: specimens sequenced in this study. A. Caenoplana coerulea tree. B. Endeavouria septemlineata tree. C. Obama nungara tree.