Amakusaplana acroporae

Amakusaplana acroporae, the Acropora-eating flatworm or AEFW, is a species of free-living marine polyclad flatworms in the genus Amakusaplana.[1]

Amakusaplana acroporae
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Platyhelminthes
Order: Polycladida
Family: Prosthiostomidae
Genus: Amakusaplana
Species:
A. acroporae
Binomial name
Amakusaplana acroporae
Rawlinson, Gillis, Billings & Borneman, 2011

This species preys on the genus Acropora in reef aquariums.[2] These flatworms can grow up to 6 mm and the number of eyes they have increase with body length.[3][4] They also possess excellent camouflage, hiding on the underside of Acropora coral branches and mimicking the host's color and pigment distribution by extracting fluorescent pigments from the host.[5]

References
  1. Taxonomy and life history of the Acropora-eating flatworm Amakusaplana acroporae nov. sp. (Polycladida: Prosthiostomidae). K. A. Rawlinson, J. A. Gillis, R. E. Billings Jr. and E. H. Borneman, Coral Reefs, September 2011, Volume 30, Issue 3, pages 693-705, doi:10.1007/s00338-011-0745-3
  2. Things that Suck: Acropora Eating Flatworms, by Mitch Carl, in ReefKeeping online magazine
  3. Hume, B.C.C., D’Angelo, C., Cunnington, A., Smith, E.G., Wiedenmann, & J. (2013). The corallivorous flatworm Amakusaplana acroporae: an invasive species threat to coral reefs? Coral Reefs, 33, 267–272. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-013-1101-6
  4. Rawlinson, K.A, & Stella, J.S (2012). Discovery of the corallivorous polyclad flatworm, Amakusaplana acroporae, on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia – the first report from the wild. PLOS ONE, 7(8), 42240-e42245. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0042240
  5. Rawlinson, K.A, & Stella, J.S (2012). Discovery of the corallivorous polyclad flatworm, Amakusaplana acroporae, on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia – the first report from the wild. PLOS ONE, 7(8), 42240-e42245. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0042240

"Amakusaplana acroporae" at the Encyclopedia of Life


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