First report of the exotic blue land planarian, Caenoplana coerulea (Platyhelminthes, Geoplanidae), on Menorca (Balearic Islands, Spain)

Abstract

In April 2009 two specimens of a terrestrial flatworm were collected from under a rock in an orchard at Ciutadella de Menorca on the easternmost Balearic island of Menorca (Spain). Their external morphology suggested that both specimens belonged to the invasive blue planarian Caenoplana coerulea, a species which is native to eastern Australia. Sequence data of a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and of the entire 18S ribosomal RNA confirm its identification. This is one of the first records of the species in Europe where it has only been found in one locality in the United Kingdom, France and NE Spain.