Cratera (genus)

Cratera
Cratera pseudovaginuloides
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Platyhelminthes
Class: Turbellaria/Rhabditophora
Order: Tricladida
Suborder: Continenticola
Family: Geoplanidae
Subfamily: Geoplaninae
Genus: Cratera
Carbayo et al., 2013
Type species
Geoplana pseudovaginuloides
Riester, 1938

Cratera is a genus of land planarians from South America.

Description

The genus Cratera is characterized by having a leaf-shaped body. Most species are between 3 and 7 cm long. The hundreds of eyes distributed along the body are monolobulated, i.e., simple and circular. The copulatory apparatus has a permanent conical penis occupying the entire male cavity. The final portion of the ejaculatory duct, the channel that guides sperm through the penis, has an expanded cavity that resembles a volcanic crater. It is very similar to the related genus Obama, the main difference being the presence of trilobulated eyes in the latter.[1]

Etymology

The name Cratera is derived from the Latin word crater and refers to the cavity in the penis that resembles a volcanic crater.

Species

There are nine species assigned to the genus Cratera:

  • Cratera anamariae Carbayo & Almeida, 2015
  • Cratera crioula (E. M. Froehlich, 1955)
  • Cratera cuarassu Carbayo & Almeida, 2015
  • Cratera joia (Froehlich, 1956)
  • Cratera ochra Rossi, Amaral, Ribeiro, Cauduro, Fick, Valiati & Leal-Zanchet, 2015
  • Cratera pseudovaginuloides (Riester, 1938)
  • Cratera steffeni Rossi, Fontoura, Amaral & Leal-Zanchet, 2014
  • Cratera tamoia (E. M. Froehlich, 1955)
  • Cratera yara (E. M. Froehlich, 1955)

References

  1. Carbayo, F.; Álvarez-Presas, M.; Olivares, C. U. T.; Marques, F. P. L.; Froehlich, E. X. M.; Riutort, M. (2013). "Molecular phylogeny of Geoplaninae (Platyhelminthes) challenges current classification: Proposal of taxonomic actions". Zoologica Scripta 42 (5): 508. doi:10.1111/zsc.12019.
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