taxonID	type	description	language	source
03EF326FFFB7FF9BB4A0FB5F1D101E4A.taxon	description	Our results show that at least three different species of Girardia inhabit the eastern region of the island of Cuba. In the San Juan River was identified the presence of G. sinensis (Fig. 3 C), a species for which there is a record from the western region of the archipelago (Fig. 1), also based on a molecular study (BenÍtez-Álvarez et al. 2023 b). This is the first record of the species in the eastern region of Cuba. Girardia sinensis was originally described from China (Chen et al. 2015), but later it was found to be an invasive species and it was concluded that it originated from North America and had been recently introduced worldwide by human activities (BenÍtez-Álvarez et al. 2023 a, 2023 b). Up to date, Cuba is the only known record of G. sinensis in The Americas (BenÍtez-Álvarez et al. 2023 b) and Cuba is situated on the south border of the North American plate (Iturralde-Vinent and MacPhee 1999, Iturralde-Vinent and Macphee 2023). Taking into account the high dispersal potential of this species (BenÍtez-Álvarez et al. 2023 a) and the complex geology of the American continent, at the moment it is not possible to establish whether the species is autochthonous to the island or may have arrived transported by human activities or animals. The specimens coming from the Duaba (Fig. 3 A) and Nima Nima rivers (Fig. 3 B), respectively, constitute sister groups; however, the long branches separating them in the trees are indicative of a high genetic differentiation, which suggest they are two different species. These two species were sampled in localities near those of eastern Cuba where Codreanu and Balcesco (1973) described G. cubana and, therefore, one of the two molecularly identified species in the present work may correspond to G. cubana (Figs 1, 2). A morphological analysis is needed to corroborate whether any of the populations of both localities show the characteristics defined for G. cubana. However, the lack of type material or designation of a type locality in the original description of the species, together with the fact that the morphology of the copulatory apparatus of G. cubana from most of the localities was not analyzed (Codreanu and Balcesco 1973), renders the classification of new specimens as G. cubana difficult. We suggest designating Topes de Collantes on Central Cuba as type locality for G. cubana, since the only anatomical description of the reproductive systems belongs to specimens from that locality (Codreanu and Balcesco 1973).	en	Catalá, Alejandro, Benítez-Álvarez, Lisandra, Diez, Yander L., Blasco, Gema, Riutort, Marta (2024): Treasure island: DNA data reveals unknown diversity in Cuban freshwater planarians (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida). Zoologia (e 23101) 41: 1-13, DOI: 10.1590/S1984-4689.v41.e23101, URL: https://doi.org/10.1590/s1984-4689.v41.e23101
03EF326FFFB8FF9BB4A8FE1A1EC419D2.taxon	description	Sluys (1992) suggested that species of Girardia from The Antilles are related to those of South America by comparing the morphology of their copulatory apparatus. However, excluding G. sinensis, in the present molecular analyses the Cuban species do not group within the South American or the North American + South American clades but, otherwise, are rather related to a species from Mexico (Fig. 4). The Cuban biota had three major sources of colonization (North, Central, and South America) related to the geological history of the island (Hedges 2001). Our results suggest that the colonization of the Cuban archipelago by representatives of Girardia could originate from Central America, probably in a quite ancient event considering the basal branches leading to the two Cuban lineages in our trees. On the other hand, a previous biogeographic hypothesis suggested a single-species island endemism for the freshwater planarians on The Antilles (Ball 1983). However, our results show a different scenario for the Cuban archipelago indicating that each island may harbor more than one species, suggesting an ancient colonization and posterior speciation occurring on the islands. As proposed by Sluys (1992), the previously observed pattern is the result of sampling biases rather than the real biogeographic history of the group in the region. To have a better understanding of the distribution pattern of planarians in The Antilles, sampling unexplored areas not only in Cuba but also in the other Antillean islands and the continental regions surrounding them is necessary.	en	Catalá, Alejandro, Benítez-Álvarez, Lisandra, Diez, Yander L., Blasco, Gema, Riutort, Marta (2024): Treasure island: DNA data reveals unknown diversity in Cuban freshwater planarians (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida). Zoologia (e 23101) 41: 1-13, DOI: 10.1590/S1984-4689.v41.e23101, URL: https://doi.org/10.1590/s1984-4689.v41.e23101
