Cratera tui is a species of land planarian belonging to the subfamily Geoplaninae.[1] It is found in Serra da Bocaina National Park and Itatiaia National Park in Brazil.[2]

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

Description

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Cratera tui is a flatworm around 45–70 mm in length and 7 mm in width. The body is slightly lanceolate, with parallel margins, a rounded front tip, and a pointed back tip. The body is widest at the pharynx, with a gradual narrowing towards the front and an abrupt narrowing towards the back tip. The dorsal side of the body has a melon yellow median stripe that is bordered on both sides by a jet black stripe. Outside of the jet black stripes are traffic white marginal stripes. The body margin is jet black. The front of the body fades into a carmine red color. The ventral side of the body is grey-white.[2]

Aside from its coloration and length, it is distinguished from other members of Cratera by having marginal eyes, a cylindrical pharynx, a pharyngeal pouch that is 0.6 mm anterior to the prostatic vesicle, a penis papilla that is shorter than the male atrium, a relatively small distal dilation of the ejaculatory duct, a female atrium that is 2.5 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 Tupi language word tui, "tiny, insignificant", in reference to the small size of the ejaculatory duct's distal dilation.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Cratera tui 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