Marine planarians (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida: Maricola) from the western Mediterranean Sea and the Cantabrian coast: new records, one new genus, and immunocytochemistry of the nervous system

Abstract

Marine planarians were collected extensively from the Iberian Peninsula and Italy. As a result we provide new distributional records of six species of marine triclads, including the description of one new genus and species. The study increases substantially our knowledge of the distribution of this group of animals in Spain and reveals that even relatively well studied areas, such as Italy, still yield new species. In addition, we performed immunostaining studies of the nervous system of three of the species, which revealed the detailed organization of the main nerve cords and their branches. In the new species, the lateral nerve branches showed an arrangement that is different from that of the other species.