Freshwater microturbellarians (Platyhelminthes) from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

Ten species of freshwater microturbellarians of three ordens, Catenulida, Macrostomida and Rhabdocoela, were collected in seven sites situated in the Northeast region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Two species, Macrostomum johni Young, 1972 and Mesostoma productum (Schmidt, 1848), are cited for the first time for Brazil, the citation of M. johni being also the first one for the Neotropical Region. All species are cited for the first time for the state of Rio Grande do Sul.<br>Dez espécies de microturbelários dulciaqüícolas, pertencentes a três ordens, Catenulida, Macrostomida e Rhabdocoela, foram coletados em sete localidades situadas no Nordeste do estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Duas dessas espécies, Macrostomum johni Young, 1972 e Mesostoma productum (Schmidt, 1848), são registradas pela primeira vez para o Brasil, sendo o registro de M. johni o primeiro também para a Região Neotropical. Todas as espécies são registradas pela primeira vez para o estado do Rio Grande do Sul

Microturbellarians (Platyhelminthes and Acoelomorpha) in Brazil: invisible organisms?

“…Such records were mainly distributed among São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná (Marcus, 1943(Marcus, , 1944(Marcus, , 1945a(Marcus, , 1951(Marcus, , 1954Gamo and Leal-Zanchet, 2004;Vara and Leal-Zanchet, 2013;Braccini and Leal-Zanchet, 2013). Considering the freshwater groups, the temnocephalids certainly constitute an exception, with species recorded for various regions in Brazil (Monticelli, 1899;Cuocolo, 1940, 1941;Ferreira Yuki et al, 1993;Damborenea, 1994;Ernst and Lovich, 1996;Vianna and Melo, 2002;Amato et al, 2003, , 2006Seixas et al, 2010aSeixas et al, , b, c, 2011Seixas et al, , 2014.…”

“…In addition to taxonomical studies, freshwater microturbellarian diversity was also investigated through recent inventories and studies on community structure done in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (Gamo and Leal-Zanchet, 2004;Braccini and Leal-Zanchet, 2013;Vara and Leal-Zanchet, 2013). In these studies, many unidentified species of catenulids, lecithopitheliates, macrostomids and rhabdocoels, among others, were recorded in agroecosystems and natural lentic environments of southern Brazil (Braccini and Leal-Zanchet, 2013;Vara and Leal-Zanchet, 2013).…”

“…In addition, a new species of marine rhabocoel was recently described (Reygel et al, 2014). Freshwater turbellarians from southern Brazil were investigated by Gamo and Leal-Zanchet (2004), Vara and Leal-Zanchet (2013) and Braccini and Leal-Zanchet (2013) in natural wetlands and agroecosystems. Temnocephalids from various Brazilian regions were studied by Monticelli (1899), Cuocolo (1940, 1941), Amato et al (2003Amato et al ( , 2006Amato et al ( , 2007Amato et al ( , 2010Amato et al ( , 2011, and Seixas et al (2010aSeixas et al ( , b, c, 2011Seixas et al ( , 2014.…”

Stenostomum Leucops Dugès, 1828 (Platyhelminthes, Catenulida): A Putative Species Complex With Phenotypic Plasticity

“…The small number of cells observed in Stenostomum may also be important to the usefulness of these worms as models for biological studies. Although the number of zooids is not a diagnostic characteristic for Stenostomum species identification, this characteristic is always cited in the descriptions of species of this genus (Van Cleave, 1929;Nuttycombe & Waters 1938;Noreña et al, 2005;Damborenea et al, 2011;Gamo & Leal-Zanchet, 2004). Van Der Land (1965), Gamo & Leal-Zanchet (2004) and Noreña et al (2005) describe S. leucops as having only two zooids.…”

“…Although the number of zooids is not a diagnostic characteristic for Stenostomum species identification, this characteristic is always cited in the descriptions of species of this genus (Van Cleave, 1929;Nuttycombe & Waters 1938;Noreña et al, 2005;Damborenea et al, 2011;Gamo & Leal-Zanchet, 2004). Van Der Land (1965), Gamo & Leal-Zanchet (2004) and Noreña et al (2005) describe S. leucops as having only two zooids. On the other hand, Van Claeve (1929) and Palmberg (1990) report that the worms they studied showed multiple zooids (up to five), but do not described the conditions under which these animals were cultivated.…”