Platydemus manokwari

Head region of Platydemus manokwari

1.1 Description
This atworm is relatively large, about 4065 millime-
tres (1.62.6 inches) in length and about 47 millimetres
(0.160.28 inches) wide. Its body, however, is quite at,
being less than 2 millimetres (0.08 inches) in thickness.
Platydemus manokwari, invasive in Florida, USA Both ends of the animal are pointed, but the head end
is more pointed than the tail end.[5] Near the tip of the
[6]
Platydemus manokwari, also known as the New Guinea head end are two eyes. The color of this animal is dark
atworm, is a species of large predatory land atworm. brown on the upper surface, with a lighter central line.
The underside is pale grey.[5]
Native to New Guinea, it has been accidentally intro-
duced to the soil of many countries, including the US.[3]
It was also deliberately introduced into two Pacic is- 1.2 Natural habitat
lands in an attempt to control an invasion of the Giant
East African Snail. It eats a variety of invertebrates in- Platydemus manokwari is native to the island of New
cluding land snails, and has had a signicant negative im- Guinea in the Pacic Ocean. This species of large at-
pact on the rare endemic land snail fauna of some Pacic worm preys on land mollusks and has been categorized
islands.[4] It has become established in a wide variety of as one of the 100 worst invasive species. It was discov-
habitats. ered in 1962 by De Beauchamp in Queensland, Australia.
The original habitat of Platydemus manokwari is within
tropical areas, but it has been found in almost all temper-
1 General ecology ate regions of the world including in agricultural, coast-
land, and disturbed areas, as well as, natural forests,
planted forests, riparian zones, scrub/shrublands, urban
areas, and wetlands.[4] However, Platydemus manokwari
does not live in urban coastal areas, perhaps due to envi-
ronmental factors, such as lack of vegetation.[4]

1.3 Prey
Platydemus manokwari mainly preys on small land snails,
but it has been known to feed on various soil inver-
tebrates, such as earthworms, slugs, and arthropods.[7]
Platydemus manokwari is the main predator of land mol-
lusks, and preys upon the snails during most of their life
Ventral side of Platydemus manokwari is pale nely mottled light cycle including young hatchlings.[8] Furthermore, Platy-
brown.
demus manokwari does not recognize early-stage snail

1
2 3
Platydemus manokwari is feeding on snail Eobania vermiculata.
The planarian use the white cylindrical pharynx, that is visible
on the ventral side.
eggs as a possible food source, but it does feed on young
hatchlings and late-stage eggs of land snails.[8] Platyde-
mus manokwari uses a chemical-based tracking method
to follow snail mucus trails and track down its prey, some-
times even into trees.[9] In areas where the land snail
population has been exhausted, it has been known to eat
other atworms.[7] The diet of Platydemus manokwari is
also aected seasonally. According to studies done by
Sugiura, more than 90% of the land snails were preyed
upon by Platydemus manokwari in the period from July
to November, and only 40% of the land snails were eaten
during the other months. It was thus found that there was
a positive correlation between snail mortality and temper-
ature. This seasonal dierence can be explained by dif-
ferent foraging behaviors, dierent microclimactic con-
ditions, and dierent densities.[10]
1.4 Predators
There are no known predators of Platydemus manokwari.
However, Platydemus manokwari is a paratenic host for
the nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis, also known as
the rat lungworm. This nematode parasitizes Platydemus
manokwari as well as the Giant African land snail, and
both of these organisms are transmission vectors of the
parasite. A. cantonensis parasitizes humans as well and
causes angiostrongyliasis. Platydemus manokwari acts
as a transmission vector of the parasite to humans and
aects the epidemiology of angiostrongyliasis.[11] In an
outbreak of angiostrongyliasis in the Okinawa Prefec-
ture, populations of Angiostrongylasis cantonensis inter-
mediates were examined in order to nd the most fre-
quently infected intermediates. Platydemus manokwari
was found to be one of the prevailing infected hosts, with
an infection rate of 14.1%. It is likely that Platydemus
manokwari is a vector because it deposits A. cantonensis
larvae on the underside of cabbage leaves, where it com-
monly lives.
REFERENCES
2 Invasive species characteristics
Main article: Platydemus manokwari as an invasive
species
Platydemus manokwari has been introduced to several
Platydemus manokwari, map of distribution records
tropical and subtropical islands such as Micronesia, the
Marquesas, the Society Islands, Samoa, Melanesia, and
the Hawaiian Islands. These islands often harbor en-
demic radiations of rare and endangered snail species,
which are a primary source of nutrition for Platydemus
manokwari.[8] Platydemus manokwari has also been in-
troduced to several Japanese Islands.
3 References
[1] de Beauchamp, P (1962). "Platydemus manokwari n.
sp., planaire terrestre de la Nouvelle-Guine Hollandaise.
Bulletin de la Socit Zoologique de France. 87: 609615.
[2] Justine, Jean-Lou; Winsor, Leigh; Gey, Delphine; Gros,
Pierre; Thvenot, Jessica (2014). The invasive New
Guinea atworm Platydemus manokwari in France, the
rst record for Europe: time for action is now.. PeerJ. 2:
e297. doi:10.7717/peerj.297. PMC 3961122 . PMID
24688873.
There is some variation in the literature
about the date of description of P. manok-
wari, 1962 or 1963. We carefully examined
the original publication. The paper was pre-
sented at a meeting in December 1962 and
is included in the volume dated 1962, but
the actual date of publication was April 18,
1963. In accord with Article 21.1 (Interna-
tional Commission on Zoological Nomencla-
ture, 1999), the date of the taxon is 1963.
The bibliographical date of the publication
remains 1962, but the taxon is Platydemus
manokwari de Beauchamp, 1963.
[3] Justine, Jean-Lou; Winsor, Leigh; Barrire, Patrick;
Fanai, Crispus; Gey, Delphine; Han, Andrew Wee Kien;
La Quay-Velzquez, Giomara; Lee, Benjamin Paul Yi-
Hann; Lefevre, Jean-Marc; Meyer, Jean-Yves; Philippart,
David; Robinson, David G.; Thvenot, Jessica; Tsatsia,
Francis (2015). The invasive land planarian Platydemus
manokwari(Platyhelminthes, Geoplanidae): records from
 3

six new localities, including the rst in the USA. PeerJ. 3:

e1037. doi:10.7717/peerj.1037. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC
4485254 . PMID 26131377.

[4] Sugiura, S; Okochi, I; Tamada, H (2006). High predation

pressure by an introduced atworm on land snails on the
oceanic Ogasawara Islands. Biotropica. 38: 700703.
doi:10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00196.x.

[5] Platydemus manokwari. zipcodezoo.com, accessed 27

October 2009.

[6] . cms.jcu.edu.au, accessed 29 October 2009.

[7] Ogren, R. (June 1995). Predation Behavior of Land Pla-

narians. Hydrobiologia 305:105-111

[8] Iwai, N.; Sugiura, S.; et al. (2010). Predation impacts of

the invasive atworm Platydemus manokwari on eggs and
hatchlings of land snails. Journal of Molluscan Studies.
76 (3): 275278. doi:10.1093/mollus/eyq007.

[9] Sugiura, S., Yamaura Y. (2009) Potential impacts of

the invasive atworm Platydemus manokwari on arboreal
snails. Biological Invasions 11(3): 737-742

[10] Sugiura, S (2009). Seasonal uctuation of invasive

atworm predation pressure on land snails: Implica-
tions for the range expansion and impacts of invasive
species. Biological Conservation. 142 (12): 30133019.
doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2009.07.032.

[11] Ryuji, A.; et al. ""(July 2004) Changing Epidemiology

of Angiostrongyliasis Cantonensis in Okinawa Prefecture,
Japan. Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases. 54: 184
186.

4 Further reading
Kaneda, M.; Kitagawa, K.; Ichinohe, F. (1990).
Laboratory rearing method and biology of Platyde-
mus manokwari De Beauchamp (Tricladida: Terri-
cola: Rhynchodemidae)". Applied Entomology and
Zoology. 25 (4): 524528.

Muniappan R. (1990) Use of the planarian, Platy-

demus manokwari, and other natural enemies to
control the giant African snail. In: Bay-Petersen J.
(ed.) The use of natural enemies to control agricul-
tural pests. Food and Fertilizer Technology Center
for the Asian and Pacic Region, Taipei, pp 179
183.

5 External links
Platydemus manokwari in ISSG database
Platydemus manokwari on James Cook University,
Australia website
4 6 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

6 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

6.1 Text
Platydemus manokwari Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platydemus_manokwari?oldid=779750788 Contributors: Alan Liefting,
Rich Farmbrough, Woohookitty, GregorB, Rjwilmsi, Ucucha, NawlinWiki, Snek01, Daniel Mietchen, SmackBot, Khazar, Bruinfan12,
Aderksen, Edsova, Jaguarlaser, Invertzoo, Piledhigheranddeeper, SchreiberBike, Dthomsen8, Addbot, Yobot, KirkCli2, AnomieBOT,
Jolly Janner, Stho002, LucienBOT, FoxBot, Obsidian Soul, DexDor, Mithril, Piterkeo, BarrelProof, Mkapoor3, Flatworm123, Jeanloujus-
tine, Jamesx12345 and Anonymous: 5

6.2 Images
File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: PD Contributors: ? Origi-
nal artist: ?
File:Lock-green.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg License: CC0 Contributors: en:File:
Free-to-read_lock_75.svg Original artist: User:Trappist the monk
File:Open_Access_logo_PLoS_transparent.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Open_Access_logo_
PLoS_transparent.svg License: CC0 Contributors: http://www.plos.org/ Original artist: art designer at PLoS, modied by Wikipedia users
Nina, Beao, and JakobVoss
File:Peerj-297-fig-2_Platydemus_manokwari.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Peerj-297-fig-2_
Platydemus_manokwari.png License: CC BY 4.0 Contributors: Justine, J.-L., Winsor, L., Gey, D., Gros, P. & Thvenot, J. 2014: The
invasive New Guinea atworm Platydemus manokwari in France, the rst record for Europe: time for action is now. PeerJ, 2, e297.
doi:10.7717/peerj.297 Original artist: Pierre Gros
File:Peerj-297-fig-4_Platydemus_manokwari.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Peerj-297-fig-4_
Platydemus_manokwari.png License: CC BY 4.0 Contributors: Justine, J.-L., Winsor, L., Gey, D., Gros, P. & Thvenot, J. 2014: The
invasive New Guinea atworm Platydemus manokwari in France, the rst record for Europe: time for action is now. PeerJ, 2, e297.
doi:10.7717/peerj.297 Original artist: Pierre Gros
File:Peerj-297-fig-5_Platydemus_manokwari.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Peerj-297-fig-5_
Platydemus_manokwari.png License: CC BY 4.0 Contributors: Justine J, Winsor L, Gey D, Gros P, Thvenot J. (2014) The invasive New
Guinea atworm Platydemus manokwari in France, the rst record for Europe: time for action is now. PeerJ 2:e297 doi:10.7717/peerj.297
Original artist: Pierre Gros
File:Platydemus_manokwari_-_Word_Map_PeerJ2015_fig-7-full.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/
4/4b/Platydemus_manokwari_-_Word_Map_PeerJ2015_fig-7-full.png License: CC BY-SA 4.0 Contributors: Justine, J.-L., Winsor, L.,
Barrire, P., Fanai, C., Gey, D., Han, A. W. K., La Quay-Velazquez, G., Lee, B. P. Y.-H., Lefevre, J.-M., Meyer, J.-Y., Philippart, D.,
Robinson, D. G., Thvenot, J. & Tsatsia, F. 2015: The invasive land planarian Platydemus manokwari (Platyhelminthes, Geoplanidae):
records from six new localities, including the rst in the USA. PeerJ, 3, e1037. doi:10.7717/peerj.1037 Original artist: Jean-Lou Jus-
tine, Leigh Winsor, Patrick Barrire, Crispus Fanai, Delphine Gey, Andrew Wee Kien Han, Giomara La Quay-Velzquez, Benjamin Paul
Yi-Hann Lee, Jean-Marc Lefevre, Jean-Yves Meyer, David Philippart, David G. Robinson, Jessica Thvenot, Francis Tsatsia
File:Platydemus_manokwari_in_Florida_PeerJ2015_fig-1-full.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/
55/Platydemus_manokwari_in_Florida_PeerJ2015_fig-1-full.png License: CC BY-SA 4.0 Contributors: Justine, J.-L., Winsor, L., Bar-
rire, P., Fanai, C., Gey, D., Han, A. W. K., La Quay-Velazquez, G., Lee, B. P. Y.-H., Lefevre, J.-M., Meyer, J.-Y., Philippart, D.,
Robinson, D. G., Thvenot, J. & Tsatsia, F. 2015: The invasive land planarian Platydemus manokwari (Platyhelminthes, Geoplanidae):
records from six new localities, including the rst in the USA. PeerJ, 3, e1037. doi:10.7717/peerj.1037 Original artist: Makiri Sai (this
author has granted the journal permission to publish the photograph under a CC licence)
File:Wikispecies-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Wikispecies-logo.svg License: CC BY-SA
3.0 Contributors: Image:Wikispecies-logo.jpg Original artist: (of code) cs:User:-xfi-

6.3 Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0