Journal of the North Carolina Academy of Science, 131(1), 2015, pp. 15–17 A CAVE PLANARIAN, SPHALLOPLANA PERCOECA, (PLATYHELMINTHES, TRICLADIDA, KENKIIDAE) FROM GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK BENNY GLASGOW1 and PAULA PIERCE2 1Principal investigator, Park study GRSM-00341, 101 William Street, Vernon, AL 35592 Email:
[email protected] 2Excalibur Pathology, Inc., 5830 N Blue Lake Dr., Norman OK 73069 Email:
[email protected] Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/jncas/article-pdf/131/1/15/1818171/2167-5872-131_1_15.pdf by guest on 27 September 2021 Abstract: Five cave planarians collected from Gregory’s Cave, Blount Co., TN, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, were analyzed using stained serial sections and two are identified as Sphalloplana percoeca (Packard 1879). Notes on specimen characteristics and habitat are given, two photographs are provided, and the species’ taxonomy and distribution are discussed. Key Words: Sphalloplana percoeca; Kenkiidae; Gregory’s Cave. INTRODUCTION 1978, pers. comm. 2010). Aquatic amphipods may be The Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s ongo- food sources for cave planarians (Reeves 2000; Carpen- ing All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, to determine ter 1982). Bats, amphibians, amphipods, millipedes, and presence and distribution of Park species or discover insects were observed in the cave during Park study new species, elicits this report on an obligate cave GRSM-00341 collections. Mays (2001) reported amphi- planarian belonging to family Kenkiidae (Hyman 1937). pods, millipedes, and spiders inhabiting the cave. Larvae Cave planarians are not well known and there could be of the Long-tailed Salamander (Eurycea longicauda) new species yet undiscovered. Gregory’s Cave was were reported in the cave’s rimstone pools (Dodd et al.