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Project Noah Nature School
Anzoplana trilineata
A 5 cm slippery flatworm with a very narrow front end and a tiny pin-head. It moved almost like a leech, extending its body in locomotion.
Moist areas in garden, under rocks or decaying vegetation.
Spotted this flatworm in the front garden under a pot plant. I did not put it back under the pot for fear of squashing it but placed it in a crack beside the pot after the photo. Have found a few of these in the garden in very damp spots. "Anzoplana trilineata, as the generic name suggests, belongs to a genus of land planarians that is present in both Australia and New Zealand. It occurs naturally from the southern Queensland border to the Snowy Mountains. It is also found as an introduction in urban gardens. At present nothing is known of its diet, but the presence of a cylindrical pharynx suggests that it has the ability to feed on litter and soil arthropods as well as some soft-bodied organisms such as earthworms", Dr.Leigh Winsor, 2013. The scientific name of the species was first published in 2006 by Winsor. My thanks to Dr Winsor for providing the ID and information.
Spotted on Nov 30, 2011
Submitted on Nov 30, 2011
5 Comments
This one is beautiful! I found one once, but it was very simple. It is fascinating to watch them move..
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/147...
http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/showima...
Hi Umaporn, it does look like a leech but it is a flat worm. It is not segmented.
I have seen a few others in the same area. They flatten their bodies against the surface they are on making it difficult to get a grasp on them. There are no suckers at either end.
There others I've seen were under flower pots - this one might have been washed over in the heavy rain we've had over the week.
look like a leech....
Surprisingly lucky to see it up on a leaf.
Good picture.