Cratera paraitinga is a species of land planarian belonging to the subfamily Geoplaninae.[1] It is known from specimens found in the Boracéia Biological Station in Brazil.[2]

Cratera paraitinga
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Platyhelminthes
Order: Tricladida
Family: Geoplanidae
Genus: Cratera
Species:
C. paraitinga
Binomial name
Cratera paraitinga
Araujo, Carbayo, Riutort & Álvarez-Presas, 2020

Description

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Cratera paraitinga is a flatworm that can reach up to 76 mm in length and 7 mm in width. The body is slightly lanceolate, with a rounded front tip. The body is widest at the pharynx, narrowing gradually towards the front and abruptly towards the back tip. The dorsal side of the body has a melon yellow median stripe that's bordered on either side by a jet black stripe; the stripes have a white band on the outside. The body margins are jet black. The front margins of the body fade into a carmine red color. The ventral side is a grey white color that fades into orange brown at the front of the body.[2]

Aside from its coloration and length, it is distinguished from other members of Cratera by having marginal eyes, a cylindrical to bell-shaped pharynx, a pharyngeal pouch 2 mm anterior to the prostatic vesicle, relatively large distal dilation of the ejaculatory duct, a penis papilla as long as the male atrium, a female atrium that is 2.4 times longer than the male, and the presence of a long common glandular ovovitelline duct.[2]

Etymology

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The specific epithet is derived from the former name of Salesópolis, São José do Paraitinga, the type locality of the species.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Cratera paraitinga Araujo, Carbayo, Riutort & Álvarez-Presas, 2020". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  2. ^ a b c d Araujo, A. P. G.; Carbayo, F.; Riutort, M.; Álvarez-Presas, M. (2020). Five new pseudocryptic land planarian species of Cratera (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida) unveiled through integrative taxonomy. PeerJ. 8: e9726. doi:10.7717/peerj.9726