Geonemertes pelaensis | |
---|---|
Video file: Geonemertes pelaensis killing a spider. Observe proboscis at end of movie. | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Nemertea |
Class: | Hoplonemertea |
Order: | Monostilifera |
Family: | Prosorhochmidae |
Genus: | Geonemertes |
Species: | G. pelaensis
|
Binomial name | |
Geonemertes pelaensis Semper, 1863
| |
Synonyms | |
|
Geonemertes pelaensis is a species of terrestrial Nemertea. [1] Superficially, Geonemertes pelaensis resembles a land flatworm (family Geoplanidae) and lives in the same habitat, but it has an anterior exertile proboscis, whereas flatworms have a pharynx located in their ventral side at midlength of body. The number of eyes this nemertean can have varies between 4 and 8 ocelli. [2]
It is commonly found on islands in the Indo-Pacific, and has been anthropogenically introduced to Caribbean islands and Florida. [3] Geonemertes pelaensis is a known predator of gastropoda in the wild, and isopoda, and amphipoda in laboratory settings. [4]