Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 56(2):575-579 (1997) 28 February 1997 https://doi.org/10.24199/j.mmv.1997.56.52 THE BIODIVERSITY OF TERRESTRIAL FLATWORMS (TRICLADIDA: TERRICOLA) IN QUEENSLAND : A PRELIMINARY REPORT Leigh Winsor Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management, P O Box 681 I. Cairns. Qld 4870, and Department of Zoology, James Cook University of North Queensland, Townsville, Qld 481 1, Australia Abstract Winsor, L., 1997. The biodiversity of terrestrial flatworms (Tricladida: Terricola) in Queensland: a preliminary report. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 56(2): 575-579. Prior to this study of the Terricola in Queensland only nine species of terrestrial flatworms (land planarians) were reported from south and mid-east Queensland. Nothing was known of the flatworm taxa of the northern regions of the state. As a result of the study the known Queensland flatworm fauna has been increased over six fold. Eight genera and over 80% of the 62 species are new. Seven exotic species have been recorded from disturbed habitat. The flatworm fauna in the northern tropics exhibits high diversity and apparent endemicity in both the Rhynchodemidae and Geoplanidae. and shares some taxa with Indonesia and lrian-Jaya — Papua-New Guinea. It includes Cotyloplana, Digonopyla and Doliehoplana not previously recorded from the Australian mainland. The southern areas of the state are dominated by a less diverse geoplanid fauna with affinities with the south-eastern states and New Zealand. Threats to conservation include deforestation and destruction of remnant ground cover by humans and exotic animals. Introduction reported prior to this study. Terricola from this state are poorly represented in museum collec- Terrestrial flatworms, also known as land plan- tions. Apart from the types of six species there arians, are conspicuous carnivores of the Aus- are less than 20 specimen lots all from south- tralian native forest cryptofauna. Generally eastern Queensland held in museum collections. regarded as having few moisture saving adap- This study is part of an on-going taxonomic tations these animals frequent damp but not wet investigation of the Australian Terricola. It habitats under litter, bark and under rotting logs seeks to determine the composition and distri- floor. Most taxa have low vagility on the forest bution of the Terricolan fauna of Queensland, high endemicity. Terrestrial flatworms are and with particular emphasis on the wet tropics, the generally amenable to trapping, and are col- not preliminary results of which are presented handpicking. By the turn of the century lected by here. some 90 Australian species and subspecies were in 12 gen- described, presently accommodated Materials and methods era within two principal families (Winsor, 1991a). On the basis of present investigations it The study is based upon specimens opportun- istically handpicking throughout is estimated that the total fauna is in excess of collected by 400 species. eastern Queensland from Iron Range south to Taxonomy of the Terricola is based upon the border ranges, with particular attention to characters derived from the external mor- study sites in the Wet Tropics World Heritage phology and internal microanatomy and histo- Area (WHA), including the Paluma, Kirrama logy of sexually mature specimens. The alpha and Millaa Millaa areas. Whilst soil-dwelling taxonomy of the Australian Terricola is in a state and arboreal taxa are collected, there is a general handpicking species present of flux as the internal anatomy of many species bias towards cover such as litter and rotting has yet to be determined. beneath ground Whilst the Terricolan faunas of New South logs. Specimens are anaesthetised in 10% etha- Wales, Victoria and Tasmania are relatively well nol then fixed extended in 4% formaldehyde : documented, those of the remaining states are 2% calcium acetate : 0.2% cobaltous nitrate 1991b). Following known only superficially. In Queensland only aqueous solution (Winsor, are sorted into recognisable nine species of native terrestrial flatworms, all fixation specimens taxonomic units (RTUs) and sexual examples from sites below the Tropic of Capricorn, were 575 576 L. WINSOR selected for anatomical study. Material for his- rhynchodemid (two genera) and geoplanid (six tological examination is processed to paraffin genera) diversity is less, and geoplanid taxa wax, serially sectioned transversely and sagit- dominate. In the Wet Tropics World Heritage tally at 8 urn, and stained using Heidenhain's Area (Tables 2 and 3) the Rhynchodeminae have AZAN technique (Gabe, 1976). their highest generic diversity in the sclerophyll forest with five genera and six species. Four gen- Results and discussion era including Colyloplana and nine species are found in rainforest. A slightly different picture Queensland has a rich, highly diverse terricolan emerges for the Caenoplaninae with higher gen- fauna. As a result of this study, the number of eric diversity in the rainforest. Here six genera taxa known from the state has been increased and ten species are present in rainforest, with over six-fold to some 62 species (Table 1). Six only four genera containing five species occur- genera and 80% of the species are new, and will ring in sclerophyll forest. be described elsewhere. A preliminary checklist The only widespread morphospecies is a Cae- of terrestrial flatworms from Queensland is noplana sp. which occurs in tall open forest and provided in Table 2. rainforest from Iron Range south to over the In north Queensland (above 20°S) there is high southern Queensland border. Histological and species diversity of both rhynchodemids (nine other analyses of this Caenoplana may reveal a genera) and geoplanids (seven genera). The species complex. The majority of taxa in north- southern region of the state (below 20°S) both ern Queensland appear to be highly restricted or endemic in distribution. The rhynchodemid genera Digonopyla, Doli- Table 1. Summary of families, genera, and choplana, and Colyloplana have not previously species of terrestrial flatworms in Queensland. been recorded from the The numbers of a particular taxon described Australian mainland. Two Colyloplana species are prior to this study are given in parentheses, now reported from the wet tropics. Colyloplana species with totals indicated in bold. have pre- viously been described from Lord Howe Island, and others from Indonesia. Eleven species of Rhynchodemidae 34(2) Rhynchodeminae Dolichoplana are presently recognised world- wide. The genus exhibits its greatest diversity in Colyloplana 2 north Queensland where at least nine undes- Digonopyla 1 cribed species have been found. Digonopyla is Dolichoplana 9 poorly known. Two species are reported from Dolichoplana ? 1 Wallacea and an undescribed species has now Platydemus 6 been found at Iron Range on Cape York. Of par- Rhynchodemus 3(2) ticular interest is an arboreal rhynchodemid. A rhynchodemids 8 single translucent green specimen was found on new genera-new species 3 a native rainforest grape vine (Vitacae) in Microplaninae ? the Eungella area. Arboreal flatworms are rare, and new genus 1 only two species from bromeliaeds in Costa Rica Geoplanidae 27(7) have Caenoplaninae previously been reported (Beauchamp, 1912). Anioposthia 1(1) Southern Queensland represents the northern Australopacifica 2(2) limit of the range of Parakontikia and Australoplana 3(1) Fletchamia. The geoplanid Anioposthia Caenoplana 8(2) regina exhibits a disjunct distribution pattern. Fletchamia 1 (1) Originally found at Gympie, is has Kontikia 2 now been recorded from the Windsor Tablelands Parakontikia 3 in far north Queensland. geoplanid 1 There has been an increase in the number new genera-new species 5 of Pelmatoplaninae introduced Terricola found in the state (Table 2). The cosmopolitan flatworm Bipalium Pelmatoplana ? 1 kewense was reported from Bipaliidae KD Gympie in 1892. Since then it has become common in urban areas Bipalium 1 of Brisbane, Townsville and country areas Total number of species 62 (10) (Winsor, 1983, 1985). Other introduced species ' BIODIVERSITY OF TERRESTRIAL FLATWORMS IN QUEENSLAND 577 Table 2. A checklist of terrestrial flatworms from Queensland. Taxa present in Wet Tropics World Heritage Area are indicated with an asterisk, and introduced species with a cross. Rhynchodemidae Geoplanidae Rhynchodeminae Caenoplaniae Cotyloplana sp. 1 Millaa Millaa S/Lake Eacham* Artioposthia regina (Dcndy, 1892b) Cotyloplana sp. 2 Millaa Millaa S* Australopacifica pava (Steel, 1897) Digonopyla sp. Iron Range Australopacifica scaphoidca (Steel, 1900) Australoplana minor Dcndy, 1892b Dolichoplana sp. 1 Kirrama* Australoplana sp. Border Ranges Dolichoplana sp. 2 Townsville/Chartcrs Australoplana sp. Eungella Towers 1 Dolichoplana sp. 3 Iron Range Caenoplana cocrulca coerulea Moseley, Dolichoplana sp. 4 Atherton Tablelands* 1877 Dolichoplana sp. 5 Paluma* Caenoplana bicolor (Graff, 1 899) Dolichoplana sp. 6 Eungella Caenoplana sp. 1 (widespread)* Dolichoplana sp. 6 Bowen Caenoplana sp. 2 Atherton Tablelands* Dolichoplana sp. 7 Millaa Millaa S* Caenoplana sp. 3 Eungella 1 Dolichoplana sp. 8 Cooroy, Gin Gin Caenoplana sp. 4 Magnetic Island Dolichoplana sp. 9 Paluma* Caenoplana sp. 5 Paluma* ?Dolichoplana sp. Mt Finnigan* Caenoplana sp. 6 Lake Barrine* 1 accent itata Platydemus manokwari Beauchamp, 1 962 Fletchamia quinquelineata (Steel, Platydemus sp. 1 Malanda* 1897) Platydemus sp. 2 Millaa Millaa S (neck band)* Kontikia circularis (Fyfe, 1 956)' 5 Platydemus