Pasipha backesi Leal-Zanchet, Rossi & Seitenfus

Leal-Zanchet, Ana Maria, Rossi, Ilana, Seitenfus, Ana Lúcia Ramos & Alvarenga, Juliana, 2012, Two new species of land flatworms and comments on the genus Pasipha Ogren & Kawakatsu, 1990 (Platyhelminthes: Continenticola), Zootaxa 3583, pp. 1-21 : 2-3

Pasipha backesi Leal-Zanchet, Rossi & Seitenfus , sp. nov.

Pasipha sp. 1: Leal-Zanchet & Carbayo, 2000 Pasipha sp. 1: Leal-Zanchet & Baptista, 2009 Pasipha sp. 2: Leal-Zanchet et al., 2009

Pasipha sp. 1: Leal-Zanchet et al., 2011

Etymology: the specific name is in honor of Prof. Dr. Albano Backes and his worthy contribution to the knowledge of the ecology of the Araucaria Forest.

Type-material.

Holotype: MZUSP PL.1201: leg. M. Cardoso, 31. July 1998, São Francisco de Paula, RS, Brazil—anterior tip: transverse sections on 12 slides; anterior region at the level of the ovaries: sagittal sections on 15 slides; prepharyngeal region: transverse sections on 10 slides; pharynx: sagittal sections on 15 slides; copulatory apparatus: sagittal sections on 19 slides;

Paratypes: MZU PL.127: leg. F. Carbayo, 19. October 1996, São Francisco de Paula, RS, Brazil—pre-pharyngeal region: transverse sections on 8 slides; pharynx and copulatory apparatus: sagittal sections on 39 slides; MZU PL.128: leg. R. Murowaniecki, 10. July 1998, São Francisco de Paula, RS, Brazil—anterior region at the level of the ovaries: horizontal sections on 7 slides; pre-pharyngeal region: transverse sections on 5 slides; pharynx: sagittal sections on 9 slides; copulatory apparatus: sagittal sections on 14 slides; MZU PL.129: leg. L.B. Matos, 0 5. October 2003, São Francisco de Paula, RS, Brazil—anterior tip: transverse sections on 19 slides; pre-pharyngeal region: transverse sections on 6 slides; pharynx: sagittal sections on 11 slides; copulatory apparatus: horizontal sections on 8 slides.

Diagnosis:

Dorsum brown with yellowish median stripe, bordered by dark-brown to black paramedian stripes; eyes dorsal, with clear halos; glandular border with three cell types; mc:h, 18%–19%; pharynx cylindrical; esophagus conspicuous; esophagus: pharynx ratio, 17%–20%; anteriormost testes posterior to ovaries; most posterior testes near root of pharynx; sperm ducts opening dorsally displaced into lateral walls of proximal region of vesicle; prostatic vesicle globose, extrabulbar, consisting of two distinct regions: a forked ental region and a large unforked ectal region; ejaculatory duct sinuous; male atrium long, highly folded, with two main regions; ovovitelline ducts emerging dorsally, but laterally displaced, from posterior half of ovaries, and uniting below female atrium; common glandular ovovitelline duct posteriorly directed, slightly ascendent; female canal almost vertical; female atrium oval-elongate, highly folded; length of male atrium, about two times that of female atrium; gonopore canal slightly posteriorly inclined; male and female atria with independent musculatures; no folds separating male and female atria.

Type-locality: São Francisco de Paula, state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil. Distribution: Rio Grande do Sul (São Francisco de Paula), Brazil.

TABLE I. Measurements, in mm, of specimens of Pasipha backesi Leal-Zanchet, Rossi & Seitenfus , sp. nov. –: not measured; *: After fixation; DG: distance of gonopore from anterior end; DM: distance of mouth from anterior end; DMG: distance between mouth and gonopore; DPVP: distance between prostatic vesicle and pharyngeal pouch. The numbers given in parentheses represent the position relative to body length.