Abstract
A new species of land planarians of the genus Cratera is described. Cratera viridimaculata sp. n. was recorded in the Atlantic Forest Ecoregion, in north-eastern Argentina, and represents the first report of the genus Cratera outside Brazil. The new species is about 50 mm in length and externally characterized by a color pattern consisting of a light green olive pigmentation on the dorsum, stippled with dark gray fine spots, and dorsal eyes. Other features regarding the internal anatomy are the presence of a glandular margin, Cutaneous Muscular Index (CMI) of 10–13%, pharynx cylindrical, prostatic vesicle extrabulbar, tubular and C-shaped, with a proximal bifurcated portion, penis papilla protrusible with ejaculatory duct widened in its distal portion, and female atrium funnel-shaped. The new species is compared and discussed with its congeners.
Highlights
The genus Cratera Carbayo et al, 2013 is one of the currently recognized genera of land flatworms of the subfamily Geoplaninae
As with other genera of the subfamily Geoplaninae, the diagnosis of the genus Cratera Carbayo et al, 2013 relies on a combination of non-exclusive features, which mainly include medium-sized body, pharynx cylindrical to bell-shaped, prostatic vesicle extrabulbar, penis papilla protrusible, common ovovitelline duct and female canal dorsal to female atrium, and female atrium funnel-shaped (Carbayo et al 2013). An autapomorphy of this genus is the presence of a widening of the ejaculatory duct in its opening in the apex of the penis papilla
The finding of a new species of Cratera outside Brazil extends the geographic range of this genus
Summary
The genus Cratera Carbayo et al, 2013 is one of the currently recognized genera of land flatworms of the subfamily Geoplaninae. It is characterized by a peculiarity of the male reproductive system which is a widening of the distal part of the ejaculatory duct that traverses the penis papilla, reminiscent of a volcano crater in sagittal section, the origin of its generic name. Four new species of Cratera have been described, all of them recorded in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (Rossi et al 2014; Carbayo and Almeida 2015; Rossi et al 2016). We describe a new species of Cratera from the Interior Atlantic Forest of Argentina, the first record of this genus outside Brazil, extending its geographic range
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