''Geonemertes pelaensis'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of terrestrial Nemertea. Norenburg, J.; Gibson, R.; Herrera Bachiller, A.; Strand, M. (2021). World Nemertea Database. Geonemertes pelaensis Semper, 1863. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=597681 on 2022-02-01 Superficially, ''Geonemertes pelaensis'' resembles a land flatworm (family

Geoplanidae Geoplanidae is a family of flatworms known commonly as land planarians or land flatworms. These flatworms are mainly predators of other invertebrates, which they hunt, attack and capture using physical force and the adhesive and digestive proper ...

) and lives in the same habitat, but it has an anterior exertile proboscis, whether flatworms have a pharynx located in their ventral side at midlength of body. The number of eyes this nemertean can have varies between 4 to 8 ocelli. It is commonly found on islands in the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

, and has been anthropogenically introduced to Caribbean islands and Florida. ''Geonemertes pelaensis'' is a known predator of

gastropoda The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. ...

in the wild, and

isopoda Isopoda is an order of crustaceans that includes woodlice and their relatives. Isopods live in the sea, in fresh water, or on land. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, an ...

, and

amphipoda Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 9,900 amphipod species so far desc ...

in laboratory settings.

References

* Punnett, R. C. (1907). On an arboricolous nemertean from the Seychelles. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, Series 2, 12(Pt. 1): 57-62 * Jones, H. D.; E. Sterrer, W. E. (2005). Terrestrial planarians (Platyhelminthes, with three new species) and nemertines of Bermuda. Zootaxa, 1001: 31-58

External links

Semper, C. (1863). Reisebricht. Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Zoologie. Bd.13 pp. 558-570 + Tafel XXXVIII and XXXIX
Prosorhochmidae Animals described in 1863 Invertebrates of the Indian Ocean Fauna of the Pacific Ocean {{Nemertean-stub