Amaga pseudobama has been found in three locations in North Carolina and in some infested plants from Georgia.
Amaga pseudobama, living specimen collected in Kingston, North Carolina in July 2020; the specimen was photographed in a Petri dish on a white background: (A) dorsal view from back; the head is at top; (B) dorsal view; the head is on the right; (C) ventral view; the pharynx (p) and gonopore (g), are indicated; the head is on the left. Image credit: Matthew A. Bertone.
“There are many types of flatworms, but most of them are aquatic,” said North Carolina State University diagnostic entomologist Matt Bertone.
“Most of the flatworms that you do find on land exist in tropical ecosystems, so it was somewhat surprising to find a terrestrial flatworm species in North Carolina that was unknown to science.”
“Free-living flatworms — the ones that aren’t parasites — are predators that feed on other soft-bodied organisms, such as earthworms and slugs.”
“And people are often concerned that unidentified flatworms may be toxic, may be carrying parasites, or may be invasive species that pose a threat to native ecosystems.”
First spotted in North Carolina in 2020, the new species is a flatworm, brown in color, a few centimeters in length.
The first information received about the species was photos, and the researchers then believed that the specimens belonged to Obama nungara, an invasive flatworm species native to Brazil and Argentina that has invaded much of Europe.
But after a molecular study, it became clear that the species, now named Amaga pseudobama, was very different from Obama nungara.
The scientists then carried out a detailed morphological analysis and a molecular study, including the description of the complete mitogenome.
Like Obama nungara, Amaga pseudobama comes from South America; however, it has never been seen or analyzed in South America.
Apart from North Carolina, the species is also present in Florida, Georgia, and may have already invaded other states.
It joins other invasive flatworm species discovered in the Southern United States, including Platydemus manokwari.
“It has not been observed in the wild or native habitats, so we don’t know much about how it interacts with its environment,” Dr. Bertone said.
“We can infer from what we know about related species, but we don’t know precisely what it preys on, how quickly it reproduces, and so on.”
“Amaga pseudobama may be found across the Southeast. It’s also possible that these were merely isolated instances. We just don’t know.”
“Until we have more confirmed observations of this species, we won’t know how established they are.”
“Finding a new flatworm species is not necessarily a surprise — these animals are so little studied that there are likely many species awaiting discovery.”
“However, the fact that we know so little about them is one reason they are worth paying attention to.”
“Do they pose a risk to native worms and, by extension, native ecosystems? We have to study these species to find out.”
“And the first step in that process is clearly identifying a species and naming it.”
The study was published in the journal PeerJ.
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J. Justine et al. 2024. A new species of alien land flatworm in the Southern United States. PeerJ 12: e17904; doi: 10.7717/peerj.17904