The genera Cratera Carbayo et al., 2013 and Obama Carbayo et al., 2013, belonging to the subfamily Geoplaninae, were recently proposed to encompass some of the species that belonged to the genus Geoplana Stimpson, 1857. Herein we describe two new species of Geoplaninae, occurring in areas of ombrophilous forest which belong to the southern portion of the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest. The species are sympatric in their type-locality. In general, both new species herein described match the diagnostic characteristics of their genera. However, some of these features are noteworthy when characters of the new species are taken into consideration, especially the pattern of the sensory pits and the morphology of the prostatic vesicle. Both species are differentiated from their congeners by a combination of morphological characteristics, corroborated by phylogenetic analyses of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene, using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference, as well as the Automatic Barcode Gap tool.

The genus Cratera Carbayo et al. was proposed to encompass five species of Geoplaninae from southeastern Brazil that were mainly recorded in the state of São Paulo. Here we describe a new species of the genus, C. steffeni sp. nov., that occurs in areas of Araucaria Forest in southern Brazil, which augments the known distribution of Cratera. The new species is distinguished from others of the genus by its characteristic colour pattern and a combination of internal morphological characters.

Invasive species establish successfully in new habitats especially due to their ability to include new species in their diet and due to the freedom from natural enemies. However, native species may also adapt to the use of new elements in their ecosystem. The planarian Endeavouria septemlineata, first recorded in Hawaii, was later found in Brazil. Recently, we found it in human-disturbed areas in southern Brazil and here we investigate its interactions with other invertebrates both in the field and in the laboratory. We observed the species in the field during collecting activities and hence maintained some specimens alive in small terraria in the laboratory, where we offered different invertebrate species as potential prey and also put them in contact with native land planarians in order to examine their interaction. Both in the field and in the laboratory, E. septemlineata showed a gregarious behavior and was found feeding on woodlice, millipedes, earwigs and gastropods. In the laboratory, specimens often did not attack live prey, but immediately approached dead specimens, indicating a scavenging behavior. In an experiment using the slug Deroceras laeve and the woodlouse Atlantoscia floridana, there was a higher consumption of dead specimens of woodlice and slugs compared to live specimens, as well as a higher consumption of dead woodlice over dead slugs. Four native land planarians of the genus Obama and one of the genus Paraba attacked and consumed E. septemlineata, which, after the beginning of the attack, tried to escape by tumbling or using autotomy. As a scavenger, E. septemlineata would have no impact on the populations of species used as food, but could possibly exclude native scavengers by competition. On the other hand, its consumption by native land planarians may control its spread and thus reduce its impact on the ecosystem.

Areas of Araucaria moist forest have been considered to constitute hotspots of land flatworm diversity, harbouring a high number of undescribed species. Herein we describe three new species of land flatworms of Cratera Carbayo et al., 2013 occurring in such type of forest in south Brazil. The three species are differentiated from their congeners mainly by their colour pattern, anatomy of the pharynx and prostatic vesicle, and details of the penis papilla and male atrium. An identification key to species of the genus in the Neotropical region is provided.

Two new species of Geoplaninae, Pasipha backesi Leal-Zanchet, Rossi & Seitenfus, sp. nov. and P. brevilineata Leal-Zanchet, Rossi & Alvarenga, sp. nov., from southern Brazil are described herein. The two new sympatric species can be distinguished from each other by differences in colour pattern and the copulatory apparatus, especially regarding the prostatic vesicle. They show similar characteristics regarding the relative position of the ovaries and anteriormost testes in relation to body length, the position where ovovitelline ducts emerge from the ovaries, pharyngeal morphology and general morphology of the copulatory apparatus. Comments on the most important morphological characters of the 22 species originally assigned to the genus Pasipha are presented in order to highlight the heterogeneity of the genus as well as facilitate the comparative discussion of the new species. In addition, based on the current diagnosis of the genus, we propose the placement of G. cafusa into Pasipha.

Tradicionalmente, o filo Platyhelminthes era subdividido em quatro classes, Turbellaria, Trematoda, Monogenea e Cestoda, mas estudos filogenéticos apontaram que a classe Turbellaria não estava bem definida devido à ausência de sinapomorfias claras. Tais estudos, inicialmente realizados considerando dados morfológicos, indicaram que o filo Platyhelminthes apresenta-se constituído por três grupos monofiléticos: Acoelomorpha, Catenulida e Rhabditophora. Análises moleculares, bem como estudos combinando dados morfológicos e moleculares, têm indicado que os acelomorfos não são integrantes do filo Platyhelminthes. O presente artigo de revisão tem como objetivo discutir as relações filogenéticas dos principais grupos que integram os turbelários, com base em caracteres morfológicos e moleculares, bem como a posição dos acelomorfos em relação aos demais invertebrados.

The genus Obama Carbayo et al., 2013 includes 38 species, being the most species-rich within Geoplaninae. Species of this genus show a similar anatomy regarding their copulatory apparatus, which may hinder species differentiation. In this study, we describe two new species, presenting a marbled colour pattern, found in two different phytophysionomies of the Atlantic Forest, namely Semi-deciduous Forest and Araucaria Forest. Both species can be distinguished from their congeners, as well from each other, by colour pattern and eye arrangement combined with characteristics of the pharynx, penis papilla and prostatic vesicle, confirmed by molecular analyses from cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI). Phylogenetic analyses suggest that both species herein studied are closely related to another species that occurs in areas of Araucaria Forest (O. maculipunctata). Results also indicate the need to use at least 600 bp of the gene COI in the definitions of interspecific divergences and for species delineation, at least for the genus Obama.

Invasive species establish successfully in new habitats especially due to their generalist diet and release of natural enemies. However, native species may also adapt to use new elements in their ecosystem. The planarian Endeavouria septemlineata, first recorded in Hawaii, was later registered in Australia and Brazil. Recently we found it in humandisturbed areas in southern Brazil and here we investigate its interactions with other invertebrates both in the field and in the laboratory. We observed the species in the field during collecting activities and maintained some specimens alive in small terraria in the laboratory, where we offered different invertebrate species as potential prey and also put them in contact with native land planarians in order to examine their interaction. Both in the field and in the laboratory, E. septemlineata showed a gregarious behavior and was found feeding on woodlice, millipedes, earwigs and gastropods. In the laboratory, specimens did not attack live prey, but immediately approached dead specimens, indicating a scavenging behavior. Four native land planarians of the genus Obama and two of the genus Paraba attacked and consumed E. septemlineata, which, after the beginning of the attack, tried to escape by tumbling or using autotomy. As a scavenger, E. septemlineata would impact the populations of species used as food, but could possibly exclude native scavengers by competition. On the other hand, its consumption by native land planarians may control its spread and thus reduce its impact on the ecosystems.