Abstract
ABSTRACT Recent studies have recorded new species of freshwater planarians in caves of the biomes Amazonia, Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, and Caatinga. Herein we contribute to enhancing this knowledge by describing three new cave-dwelling species of Girardia from three different cave systems situated in two biomes (Atlantic Forest and Cerrado) in eastern Brazil. Girardia spelaea sp. n., from a limestone cave, is eyeless and shows a whitish body. The other two species, G. asymmetrica sp. n. and G. ibitipoca sp. n., from limestone and quartzite caves, show pigmented bodies and eyes. The three species are characterized by dorsal and/or dorsoventral testes and a bulbar cavity with forked ental portions, varying from round or ovoid to elongate. Each new species is easily recognized by a unique combination of characters of their external morphology and reproductive system. Girardia spelaea is probably a troglobitic species and the two other species may be trogrophiles, all of them with a restricted known distribution. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:AC4F9F3C-EF6D-4BB8-ACBA-EB5812036314 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:6BD22CDA-99E7-46DC-98D6-8FD1ECB46320 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C5D97034-9F1A-4020-9635-DE76202A85C1
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