Amaga expatria is a large species of land planarian in the subfamily Geoplaninae.
| Amaga expatria | |
|---|---|
_in_Guadeloupe_and_Martinique_fig-4-full.png)
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| Amaga expatria from La Martinique | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Platyhelminthes |
| Order: | Tricladida |
| Family: | Geoplanidae |
| Genus: | Amaga |
| Species: | A. expatria
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| Binomial name | |
| Amaga expatria Jones & Sterrer, 2005 [1]
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Description
editAmaga expatria is a large species, reaching 132 mm in length and 9 mm in width in extended state. The dorsal colour is mid-brown with a dark brown anterior tip, with two narrow dark blue lines dorsally along the anterior third.[1][2] It looks a bit like, in colour and shape, "a banana cut lengthwise".[3]
Etymology
editAccording to the authors of the taxon, the specific epithet "is based on ex patria = expatriate, meaning away from one’s native country, recognising that this worm, like much of the present biota of Bermuda including humans, originated elsewhere."[1]
Distribution
editAmaga expatria has been found in the Bermuda and in two islands of the Caribbean, Martinique and Guadeloupe.[1][2] The species is abundant in Guadeloupe and Martinique.[3]
Ecology
editAs other land flatworms, this animal is a predator of other small animals. The prey of Amaga expatria include molluscs and earthworms.[2]
Molecular information
edit_in_Guadeloupe_and_Martinique_fig-7-full.png)
The complete mitogenome of Amaga expatria was described in 2020. It is 14,962 bp in length and contains 12 protein coding genes, two rRNA genes and 22 tRNA genes.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Jones, Hugh D.; Sterrer, Wolfgang (2005-05-30). "Terrestrial planarians (Platyhelminthes, with three new species) and nemertines of Bermuda". Zootaxa. 1001 (1). doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1001.1.3. ISSN 1175-5334.
- ^ a b c d Justine, Jean-Lou; Gey, Delphine; Thévenot, Jessica; Gastineau, Romain; Jones, Hugh D. (2020-11-09). "The land flatworm Amaga expatria (Geoplanidae) in Guadeloupe and Martinique: new reports and molecular characterization including complete mitogenome". PeerJ. 8: e10098. doi:10.7717/peerj.10098. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 7659627. PMID 33240595.
- ^ a b Justine, Jean-Lou; Jones, Hugh (2020). "Land flatworms are invading the West Indies". The Conversation. doi:10.6084/M9.FIGSHARE.13246559.V1.
