Amaga expatria

{{Short description|Species of flatworm}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = The land flatworm Amaga expatria (Geoplanidae) in Guadeloupe and Martinique fig-4-full.png

| image_caption = Amaga expatria from La Martinique

| genus = Amaga

| species = expatria

| authority = Jones & Sterrer, 2005

| synonyms =

}}

Amaga expatria is a large species of land planarian in the subfamily Geoplaninae.

Description

Amaga 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.{{cite journal | last1=Jones | first1=Hugh D. | last2=Sterrer | first2=Wolfgang | title=Terrestrial planarians (Platyhelminthes, with three new species) and nemertines of Bermuda | journal=Zootaxa | volume=1001 | issue=1 | date=2005-05-30 | issn=1175-5334 | doi=10.11646/zootaxa.1001.1.3 | page=}}{{cite journal | last1=Justine | first1=Jean-Lou | last2=Gey | first2=Delphine | last3=Thévenot | first3=Jessica | last4=Gastineau | first4=Romain | last5=Jones | first5=Hugh D. | title=The land flatworm Amaga expatria (Geoplanidae) in Guadeloupe and Martinique: new reports and molecular characterization including complete mitogenome | journal=PeerJ | volume=8 | date=2020-11-09 | issn=2167-8359 | pmid=33240595 | pmc=7659627 | doi=10.7717/peerj.10098 | doi-access=free | page=e10098}} {{open access}} It looks a bit like, in colour and shape, "a banana cut lengthwise".

Etymology

According 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."

Distribution

Amaga expatria has been found in the Bermuda and in two islands of the Caribbean, Martinique and Guadeloupe. The species is abundant in Guadeloupe and Martinique.{{cite journal | last1=Justine | first1=Jean-Lou | last2=Jones| first2=Hugh| title=Land flatworms are invading the West Indies | date=2020 | doi=10.6084/M9.FIGSHARE.13246559.V1 |journal= The Conversation}}{{open access}}

Ecology

As other land flatworms, this animal is a predator of other small animals. The prey of Amaga expatria include molluscs and earthworms.

Molecular information

File:The land flatworm Amaga expatria (Geoplanidae) 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.

References