Dendrocoelum vesiculosum Stocchino & Sluys, 2013

Stocchino, Giacinta Angela, 2018, 80 years of research on planarians (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida) from Sardinia, Italy: an annotated checklist, Zootaxa 4532 (4), pp. 539-552 : 547

Dendrocoelum vesiculosum Stocchino & Sluys, 2013

Specimens were collected from a cave (Sa Ucca ‘e su Peltusu Cave) in northwestern Sardinia, together with some fissiparous specimens of Dugesia sp.. Dendrocoelum vesiculosum is characterized by an unusual population with both anophthalmous and two-eyed individuals, suggesting an in-progress process of adaptation to the subterranean environment. Moreover, this species is well-distinguishable from its congeners by some unique features, such as an inflated flagellum, a convoluted adenodactyl, and a peculiar dorsal expansion of the vasa deferentia ( Stocchino et al., 2013c).