Five new pseudocryptic land planarian species of (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida) unveiled through integrative taxonomy.

Background: is a genus of land planarians endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic forest. The species of this genus are distinguished from each other by a series of external and internal characters, nonetheless they represent a challenging taxonomic issue due to the extreme alikeness of the species analysed in the present work. To resolve these difficulties, we have performed morphological analyses and used three nuclear markers (ribosomal 18S and 28S, Elongation Factor, a new anonymous marker named Tnuc813) and two mitochondrial fragments (Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene, and a fragment encompasing NADH deshydrogenase subunit 4 gene, trnF and the beginning of the Cytochrome c oxidase I gene) in an integrative taxonomic study.

A new species of the land planarian sheds light on the polyphyletic status of the genus (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida, Geoplaninae).

A new species of the genus (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida, Geoplaninae) is described. sp. n.