NEW RECORDS BASED ON CITIZEN-SCIENCE REPORT ALIEN LAND PLANARIANS IN THE THREE REMAINING ITALIAN REGIONS AND PANTELLERIA ISLAND, AND FIRST RECORD OF DOLICHOPLANA STRIATA (PLATYHELMINTHES TRICLADIDA CONTINETICOLA GEOPLANIDAE) IN ITALY

Abstract

Mori E., Magoga G., Mazza G. - New records based on citizen-science report alien land planarians in the three remaining Italian regions and Pantelleria island, and first record of Dolichoplana striata (Platyhelminthes Tricladida Contineticola Geoplanidae) in Italy. Alien land planarians have been recorded in most of Europe and, in Italy, in 17 out of 20 regions. In this work, after collecting new data through a citizen-science approach, we report for the first time the presence of at least one alien planarian species in Molise, Basilicata, and Aosta Valley and we update the distribution range provided in our previous work. Amongst new sites, alien planarians were also found on a small island in Southern Italy, Pantelleria, which is included in a National Park rich in endemic species, thus deserving particular attention. Moreover, we report the first record of Dolichoplana striata in Italy. The increase of distribution range of alien planarians in Italy needs to be tightly monitored, as these introduced worms are responsible for impacts on native soil biodiversity. Accordingly, an e-mail address has been created ad-hoc (planarieitaliane@gmail.com) to collect all the records and to keep the distribution of alien species updated. Key Words: Biological Invasions, Citizen Science, Italy, Land flatworms, Planarians