Australoplana alba

A flatworm at Evatt, ACT

Request use of media

Identification history

	Australoplana alba	15 Aug 2021	turb
	Unidentified	15 Aug 2021	TimL

Identify this sighting

Please Login or Register to identify this sighting.

User's notes

Thanks to Marcus Leach for the initial sighting. The Flatworm as seen in the first image was in the order of 40mm long.

3 comments

turb wrote:

15 Aug 2021

I suspect that this is a juvenile specimen of Australoplana alba, the colour of which varies from red through to white. For identification purposes it is helpful if a photo can be taken of part of the under surface (gently flipping over the planarian with a twig).

TimL wrote:

15 Aug 2021

Thanks for this info @turb. Is there anything specific that should be photographed on the under surface to help with identification? If so, I'll get that detail in future. Tim

turb wrote:

15 Aug 2021

Ideally with land planarians, a photo of the dorsal surface, a photo of the ventral surface, and a photo of the head end all help with the identification of various species. Eye pattern around the head end is important, and the ground colours and stripe patterns of the dorsal and ventral surfaces. The overall form of a planarian is important too. Specimens can be gently prodded with a twig or something similar to get them to move and extend when they can be photographed. Many observers use the camera on their mobile phone, and close-ups can be tricky, and speaking from experience trying the same thing, I appreciate the difficulties.

Please Login or Register to comment.