Amaga (flatworm)
| Amaga | |
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| Amaga becki | |
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| Genus: | Amaga Ogren & Kawakatsu, 1990
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| Type species | |
| Geoplana amagensis Fuhrmann, 1914
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Amaga is a genus of land planarians from South America.
Description
The genus Amaga was erected by Robert E. Ogren and Masaharu Kawakatsu to include Neotropical land planarians with an intra-antral penis papilla, i.e., a small penis papilla at the proximal end of a folded male atrium.[1]
A recent redescription of the type species, Amaga amagensis, revealed that the intra-antral penis papilla is not a permanent structure as previously thought. A new diagnosis of the genus describes it as Geoplaninid land planarians with a large and broad, flat body and a well-developed glandular margin, i.e., several glands discharge along the margins of the body, which can be observed in histological sections. The testes are located at the dorsum, above the parenchymal transverse muscles, while most species in the subfamily Geoplaninae have dorsal testes beneath the parenchymal transverse muscles. The copulatory apparatus lacks a permanent penis and the ovovitelline ducts enter the female atrium at the same time, without joining to form a common duct.[2] The remaining species currently in the genus need a taxonomic re-evaluation and may be transferred to new genera in the future.[2]
Etymology
The name Amaga comes from the specific epithet, amagensis, of the type-species, originally described as Geoplana amagensis due to its occurrence in the proximities of Amagá, Colombia.[1]
Species
There are 10 species assigned to the genus Amaga:
- Amaga amagensis (Fuhrmann, 1914)
- Amaga becki (Fuhrmann, 1914)
- Amaga bussoni (Froehlich, 1959)
- Amaga contamanensis (Hyman, 1955)
- Amaga expatria Jones & Sterrer, 2005 [3]
- Amaga libbieae (Du Bois-Reymond Marcus, 1958)
- Amaga olivacea (Schultze & Müller, 1857)
- Amaga ortizi (Fuhrmann, 1914)
- Amaga righii (Froehlich & Froehlich, 1972)
- Amaga ruca (Marcus, 1954)
References
- ^ a b Ogren, Robert E.; Kawakatsu, Masaharu (1990). "Index to the species of the family Geoplanidae (Turbellaria, Tricladida, Terricola) Part I: Geoplaninae". The Bulletin of Fuji Women's College Series 2. 28: 79–166.
- ^ a b Grau, José Horacio; Sluys, Ronald; Froehlich, Eudóxia Maria; Carbayo, Fernando (2012). "Reflections on the genus Amaga Ogren and Kawakatsu 1990, and description of a new genus of land planarian (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida: Geoplanidae)". Journal of Natural History. 46 (25–26): 1529–1546. doi:10.1080/00222933.2012.691996. ISSN 0022-2933.
- ^ Jones, H. D., & Sterrer, W. (2005). Terrestrial planarians (Platyhelminthes, with three new species) and nemertines of Bermuda. Zootaxa, 1001, 31-58.
