ena-STUDY-DISAAUNIMI-29-03-2021-12:10:35:592-458
Opening Pandora's box: the silent invasion of alien flatworms in Italy
Land flatworms (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida: Continenticola: Geoplanidae) include more than 900 species that mostly live in moist soils of tropical forests, although some species are also native to Europe. Nowadays, many places in the world have been invaded by these species, mainly stowed away in the soil of imported ornamental plants. Alien land planarians have been scarcely recorded in Italy and thus the main aim of this work was to update the distribution of alien planarians in Italy using a citizen science and, whenever possible, a molecular approach.  Our work showed the occurrence of an extensive level of planarian invasion in Italy, with 133 records and at least 13 species (Anisorhynchodemus cf. signata, Australopacifica atrata, Australoplana cf. sanguinea alba, Bipalium kewense, B. vagum, Caenoplana cf. dendyi, C. cf. decolorata, C. coerulea, C. variegata, Diversibipalium multilineatum, Diversibipalium “black”, Endeavouria septemlineata, and Obama nungara) and some undescribed and unidentified at species-level taxa. Records of alien planarians in Italy came from all Italian regions except for those characterized by the lowest human population densities (Valle d'Aosta, Molise, and Basilicata) and near 84% of records come from private gardens. Most records have been observed in spring and early autumn and increased with increasing rainfall. Citizen-science data significantly expanded the distribution area of these species in Italy, and thus the citizen-science platforms represent an effective tool for the early detection of these alien pest species.
Land flatworms (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida: Continenticola: Geoplanidae) include more than 900 species that mostly live in moist soils of tropical forests, although some species are also native to Europe. Nowadays, many places in the world have been invaded by these species, mainly stowed away in the soil of imported ornamental plants. Alien land planarians have been scarcely recorded in Italy and thus the main aim of this work was to update the distribution of alien planarians in Italy using a citizen science and, whenever possible, a molecular approach.  Our work showed the occurrence of an extensive level of planarian invasion in Italy, with 133 records and at least 13 species (Anisorhynchodemus cf. signata, Australopacifica atrata, Australoplana cf. sanguinea alba, Bipalium kewense, B. vagum, Caenoplana cf. dendyi, C. cf. decolorata, C. coerulea, C. variegata, Diversibipalium multilineatum, Diversibipalium “black”, Endeavouria septemlineata, and Obama nungara) and some undescribed and unidentified at species-level taxa. Records of alien planarians in Italy came from all Italian regions except for those characterized by the lowest human population densities (Valle d'Aosta, Molise, and Basilicata) and near 84% of records come from private gardens. Most records have been observed in spring and early autumn and increased with increasing rainfall. Citizen-science data significantly expanded the distribution area of these species in Italy, and thus the citizen-science platforms represent an effective tool for the early detection of these alien pest species.