Microplana is a genus of land planarians found in Europe and Africa.[1]
Description
Species of the genus Microplana are characterized by having an elongate, rounded body and generally only two eyes. The copulatory apparatus has a permanent conical penis with a muscular bulbus projecting into a short atrium. A genito-intestinal canal or a bursa copulatrix is usually present, connecting the intestine to the female atrium.[2]
Ecology
Species of Microplana are adapted to different habitats. Most species occur in temperate forests, including beech, oak, pine and mixed forests, and seem to prefer neutral to basic soils, with pH values above 6.[3] However, there are species adapted to drier habitats, such as the African savanna.[4]
All Microplana species are carnivores, feeding on other invertebrates. Some are active predators,[5] while others are mainly scavengers.[6]
Species
The genus Microplana includes the following species:[1][7][8]
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Microplana aberana (Mell, 1904)
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Microplana aixandrei Vila-Farré, Mateos, Sluys & Romero, 2008
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Microplana astricta Sluys, Álvarez-Presas & Mateos, 2017
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Microplana atropurpurea (von Graff, 1899)
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Microplana attemsi (Bendl, 1909)
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Microplana cephalofusca Sluys, Álvarez-Presas & Mateos, 2017
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Microplana ceylonica (von Graff, 1899)
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Microplana cherangani (de Beauchamp, 1936)
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Microplana cingulata Álvarez-Presas, Sluys & Mateos, 2017
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Microplana costaricensis (de Beauchamp, 1913)
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Microplana edwardsi Jones & McDonald, 2021
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Microplana fuscomaculosa Sluys, Mateos & Álvarez-Presas, 2017
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Microplana gadesensis Vila-Farré, Mateos, Sluys & Romero, 2008
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Microplana garavi Du Bois-Reymond Marcus, 1957
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Microplana giustii Minelli, 1976
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Microplana graffi (Geba, 1909)
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Microplana grazalemica Vila-Farré, Mateos, Sluys & Romero, 2008
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Microplana groga Jones, Webster, Littlewood & McDonald, 2008
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Microplana haitiensis Prudhoe, 1949
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Microplana harea Marcus, 1953
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Microplana henrici (Bendl, 1908)
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Microplana hovassei (de Beauchamp, 1934)
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Microplana howesi (Scharff, 1900)
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Microplana humicola Vejdovsky, 1889
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Microplana hyalina Vila-Farré & Sluys, 2011
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Microplana indica (Chaurasia, 1985)
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Microplana kwiskea Jones, Webster, Littlewood & McDonald, 2008
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Microplana lutulenta Álvarez-Presas, Sluys & Mateos, 2017
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Microplana mediostriata (Geba, 1909)
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Microplana montoyai (Fuhrmann, 1914)
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Microplana nana Mateos, Giribet & Carranza, 1998
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Microplana natalensis (Jameson, 1907)
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Microplana nervosa Sluys, Mateos & Álvarez-Presas, 2017
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Microplana neumanni (Mell, 1904)
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Microplana peneckei (Meixner, 1921)
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Microplana perereca Marcus & Du Bois-Reymond Marcus, 1959
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Microplana plurioculata Sluys, Mateos & Álvarez-Presas, 2016
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Microplana polyopsis Sluys, Álvarez-Presas & Mateos, 2016
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Microplana purpurea (Bendl, 1908)
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Microplana robusta Vila-Farré & Sluys, 2011
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Microplana rufocephalata Hyman, 1954
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Microplana scharffi (Graff, 1896)
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Microplana shenzhensis Wang & Yu, 2013
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Microplana sparsa Sluys, Mateos & Álvarez-Presas, 2017
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Microplana termitophaga Jones, Darlington & Newson, 1990
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Microplana terrestris (Müller, 1774)
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Microplana thwaitesii (Moseley, 1875)
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Microplana trifuscolineata (Kaburaki, 1920)
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Microplana tristriata (Geba, 1909)
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Microplana uniductus (de Beauchamp, 1930)
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Microplana unilineata (Frieb, 1923)
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Microplana viridis (Jameson, 1907)
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Microplana voeltzkowi (von Graff, 1899)
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Microplana yaravi du Bois-Reymond Marcus, 1957
References
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^ a b Vila-Farré, Miquel; Sluys, Ronald; Mateos, Eduardo; Jones, Hugh D.; Romero, Rafael (2011). "Land planarians (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida: Geoplanidae) from the Iberian Peninsula: new records and description of two new species, with a discussion on ecology". Journal of Natural History. 45 (15–16): 869–891. doi:10.1080/00222933.2010.536267. ISSN 0022-2933.
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^ Ogren, R. E.; Kawakatsu, M. (1988). "Index to the species of the family Rhynchodemidae (Turbellaria, Tricladida, Terricola) Part I: Rhynchodeminae". Bulletin of Fuji Women's College. 26 (2): 39–91.
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^ Álvarez‐Presas, Marta; Mateos, Eduardo; Riutort, Marta (2018). "Hidden diversity in forest soils: Characterization and comparison of terrestrial flatworm's communities in two national parks in Spain" (PDF). Ecology and Evolution. 8 (15): 7386–7400. doi:10.1002/ece3.4178. ISSN 2045-7758. PMC 6106173. PMID 30151158.
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^ Jones, H. D.; Darlington, Johanna P. E. C.; Newson, R. M. (1990). "A new species of land planarian preying on termites in Kenya (Platyhelminthes: Turbellaria: Tricladida: Terricola)". Journal of Zoology. 220 (2): 249–256. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1990.tb04306.x. ISSN 0952-8369.
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^ Jones, H. D.; Cumming, M. S. (1998). "Feeding behaviour of the termite-eating planarian Microplana termitophaga (Platyhelminthes: Turbellaria: Tricladida: Terricola) in Zimbabwe". Journal of Zoology. 245 (1): 53–64. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1998.tb00071.x.
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^ McDonald, Jillian C.; Jones, Hugh D. (2014). "Feeding, maintenance and reproduction of Microplana terrestris (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida: Continenticola: Geoplaninae: Microplaninae) under laboratory conditions". Journal of Natural History. 48 (1–2): 1–34. doi:10.1080/00222933.2013.809169.
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^ Sluys, Ronald; Mateos, Eduardo; Riutort, Marta; Álvarez-presas, Marta (2016). "Towards a comprehensive, integrative analysis of the diversity of European microplaninid land flatworms (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida, Microplaninae), with the description of two peculiar new species". Systematics and Biodiversity. 14 (1): 9–31. doi:10.1080/14772000.2015.1103323. ISSN 1477-2000.
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^ Mateos, Eduardo; Sluys, Ronald; Riutort, Marta; Álvarez-Presas, Marta (2017-06-30). "Species richness in the genus Microplana (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida, Microplaninae) in Europe: as yet no asymptote in sight". Invertebrate Systematics. 31 (3): 269–301. doi:10.1071/IS16038. ISSN 1447-2600. Retrieved 2017-05-13.
