Cratera steffeni is a species of land planarian belonging to the subfamily Geoplaninae.[1] It is found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.[2]

Cratera steffeni
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Platyhelminthes
Order: Tricladida
Family: Geoplanidae
Genus: Cratera
Species:
C. steffeni
Binomial name
Cratera steffeni
Rossi, Fontoura, Amaral & Leal-Zanchet, 2014

Description

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Cratera steffeni is a flatworm that can reach up to 70 mm in length and 4 mm in width. The body is elongate with parallel margins; the front tip is rounded and the back tip is pointed. The dorsal side of the body has a broad orange band flanked on either side by black paramarginal stripes. The dorsal base color is a pale yellow, which can be seen on the margins. The ventral side is a pale yellow as well.[2]

Aside from its coloration and shape, it is distinguished from other members of Cratera by having dorsal eyes restricted to lateral bands, a conspicuous glandular margin with four types of secretory cells, a bell-shaped pharynx, a short esophagus, the anteriormost testes being posterior to the ovaries, sperm ducts that open laterally into the proximal portion of the prostatic vesicle, an extrabulbar, unpaired prostatic vesicle with a tubular distal portion and an ample proximal portion, ovovitelline ducts that emerge dorsolaterally from the back half of the ovaries and ascend laterally to the female atrium, a short common ovovitelline duct, a long, dorso-anteriorly curved vagina, equal atria lengths, and a lack of folds separating the male and female atria.[2]

Etymology

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The specific epithet, steffeni, was given in honor of naturalist MSc. Clemente José Steffen S.J., for his "relevant contribution to the ethnobotany in southern Brazil".[2]

References

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  1. ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Cratera steffeni Rossi, Fontoura, Amaral & Leal-Zanchet, 2014". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  2. ^ a b c d Rossi, I.; Fontoura, M.; Amaral, S.; Leal-Zanchet, A. M. (2014). A new species of land flatworm (Platyhelminthes: Continenticola) from areas of Araucaria Forest in southern Brazil. Zootaxa, 3794 (4): 514-524. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3794.4.2