Microdalyellia armigera (Schmidt, 1861)

Noreña, Carolina, Eitam, Avi & Blaustein, Leon, 2008, “ Microturbellarian ” flatworms (Platyhelminthes) from freshwater pools: New species and records from Israel, Zootaxa 1705, pp. 1-20 : 5

Microdalyellia armigera (Schmidt, 1861)

( Figure 2)

Synonyms: Vortex armiger Schmidt, 1861

Dalyellia armiger Graff, 1904 –1908 Microdalyellia armiger Papi, 1952

Locality. Permanent spring in Kaukab, Lower Galilee.

Material. More than 20 individuals. Live observations, squash preparations, whole-mounted individual.

Ecological features. Microdalyellia armigera was collected along the edge of a permanent spring in Kaukab (April 2002) (see TABLE 1 ).

Microdalyella armigera is a species that is well-distributed within the Palaearctic region ( Luther, 1955; Young, 1970; Mack-Fira, 1974; Müller & Faubel, 1993) and has also been reported for the USA. However, the latter record can be considered doubtful, because M. armigera is often confused with M. fusca , a very similar species ( Ruebush, 1937; Luther, 1955). For Israel, this is the first record.