Daly, James J.

Darlington, Julian T.

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UARK (University of Arkansas )

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science Volume 35 Article 22 1981 Occurrence of the Land Planarians Bipalium kewense and Geoplana Sp. in Arkansas James J. Daly University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Julian T. Darlington Rhodes College Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas  Part of the Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons Recommended Citation Daly, James J. and Darlington, Julian T. (1981) "Occurrence of the Land Planarians Bipalium kewense and Geoplana Sp. in Arkansas," Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science: Vol. 35 , Article 22. Available at: https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol35/iss1/22 This article is available for use under the Creative Commons license: Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0). Users are able to read, download, copy, print, distribute, search, link to the full texts of these articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This General Note is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact scholar@uark.edu. 82 Arkansas Academy of Science Proceedings, Vol.XXXV,1981GENERAL NOTESWINTER FEEDING OF FINGERLING CHANNEL CATFISH IN CAGES*Private warmwater fish culture of channel catfish (Ictaluruspunctatus) inthe United States began inthe early 1950's (Brown, E. E., WorldFish Farming, Cultivation, and Economics 1977. AVIPublishing Co., Westport, Conn. 396 pp). Early culture techniques consisted of stocking,harvesting, and feeding catfish only during the warmer months. With both the refinement of culture techniques and increased marketingdemands, year-round production is increasing among commercial fish farmers. However, minimal research has been conducted on winter feedsand feeding practices for catfish production. Thus, a winter feeding experiment on cage culture was conducted to determine the practicality ofoverwintering fingerlingcatfish. The objectives of the study were to determine whether or not it wouldbe economically feasible to feed fingerlingcatfish incages and to observe fingerlinggrowth, survival, and general physical condition with and without supplemental feeding.Fingerling catfish were stocked 1 December 1980 and harvested 13 March 1981 fora total of 103 days. Three weight-counts were taken tostock an estimated 250 fingerlings ineach of six cages (2.5 kg of fingerlings). Fish were placed in 0.9 cubic meter floating cages anchored ina 1.6ha farm pond located on the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Agricultural Research Station. Cage construction was identical to that ofNewton and Merkowsky (1976. Using lights to attract insects for caged catfish. Ark.Farm Res. J., 25:8). Water below the cages ranged from 1.1to 1.6 meters indepth. Three cages of fingerling catfish were fed a 36% protein ration formulated as floating pellets. Feeding rate was based upondaily water temperature (Table 1). The other three cages received no supplemental feed, thereby serving as a control. Fed caged catfish finger-lings gained an average of 411 g, an increase of 16% over initial stocking weight (Table 2). Individuals showed a significant increase from anaverage of9.75 g to 12.59 g (Table 3). This gain was similar to that reported by Felts (1977. Effects of various winter feeding regimens on weightand body composition changes in channel catfish in ponds. M. S. Thesis, Auburn, University, 42 pp) for catfish reared in ponds during winter.Survival for the fed fishaveraged 95%. Fed caged fish each received a total of247 g of 36% protein ration. The catfish were fed on 43 days of the103 day trial.Average water temperature was 10° C (50° F) and ranged from 3.3° C (38° F) to 17.2° C (63° F). Dissolved oxygen was monitoredfivedays a week between 12:00 noon and 2:00 p.m. Dissolved oxygen averaged 11.1 ppm throughout the period.From review of the Literature of pond studies, itwas presumed that nonfed catfish would lose weight. Lovelland Sirikul(1974. Winter feed-ing of channel catfish. Proc. Twenty-eighth Ann. Conf. S. E. Assoc. Game and Fish Comm. 28:208-216) overwintered 0.45 kg catfish and reportedthat unfed fishlost 9. 1% of their body weight. Felts (1977) found that unfed overwintering catfish lost 6.3% of their body weight. The nonfed fishinthis study showed aslight weight gain (Table 2). Initialindividual weights were 9.75 g and final weights were 10.98 g. Survival for the nonfed fishaveraged 92%. The authors cannot state any definite reasons for the weight gain by nonfed catfish. Plans are to repeat this study to verify thisgain. Stomach content analyses willbe performed to determine if the fish are ingesting any natural organisms, such as zooplankton or small sun-fishes, that may be inthe cages.Table 1. Percent of rations fed to caged Table 2. Average weight gains and per- Table 3. Average individual sizes andfingerling catfish relative to daily water cent survival for fingerling catfish over- gains forcatfish overwintered in cages attemperature from 1 December 1980-13 wintered incages at UA-PB. UA-PB.March 1981.hunt body «il|kl fed U.t.r teiperecure'*"¦«*<!> »e g t g°" g »"rv "Ci|# .cocking -eight h.rv.it .eight gain(centigrade) <8> <8» <8>feed «£7 3 2,437 2,863 425 90 12.7t Tol05 7-10-5 2'*" !l>3S "7 l0° ' »•« 12.42 2.4710 10 "U ««"•!•• 2,»37 2,»»9 411 95 Av.r.f.. 9.75 12.59 2.U3.0 21-24 2 2.437 2.353 -«4 87 2 9~75 IoTtS T»3"""'"i t 2,437 2.608 178 89 * 9.75 11.67 1.926 2.437 2.721 284 100 6 9L7I5 10.50 0-75Aviriin 9.75 10.91 1.23Average! 2,437 2,561 124 92We wouldlike to express sincere appreciation to Dr. Scott H.Newton forassistance with this study and preparation ofThis study was supported by funds provided by USDA,SEA/CRPL95-113.the manuscript.'Published with the approval ofthe Director ofArkansas AgricultureExperiment StationD. B.BURKE and W. R. R0B1S0N, Department of Agriculture), University ofArkansas at Pine Bluff,Pine Bluff, Arkansas 71601.OCCURRENCE OF THE LAND PLANARIANS BIPALIUMKEWENSE AND GEOPLANA SP. INARKANSASLand planarians (Phylum Platyhelminthes, Order Tricladida; Suborder Terricola) are primarily long, slender flatworms found inmoist, darkhabitats such as under-leaf mold, boards, logs, and concrete slabs. These helminths are among the most primitive metazoans that can live suc-cessfully in a terrestrial environment. They require an atmosphere with highhumidity since prolonged exposure to air presents a danger ofdehy-dration. Aprotective mucous coat secreted by the planarians prevents dehydration, inpart, and this material can be seen as a noticeable slimetrail whichmarks the flatworm's migratory routes on land. The damp jungles of the tropics and subtropics are ideal for survivalof Terricola.where the most abundant numbers and greatest variety of species occur (Hyman, 1951). Fewer species of land planaria are found indigenous totemperate climates, such as Europe and North America, indicating that environmental factors other than humiditymay restrict the distribution ofthese invertebrates.In the United States a few, relatively small (12mm length) native land planarian species occur which include Microplana atrocyaneus. M-rufocephalata, Rhyncodemus sylvaticus, R. americanus, and Diporodemus indigenous. These helminths have been reported from various sites in82Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 35 [1981], Art. 22Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 1981Arkansas Academy of Science Proceedings, Vol.XXXV,1981 83the midwest and eastern United States (Hyman, 1954; Ogren, 1955). Several exotic species of land planarians apparently have been introduced tothe United States from the tropics, including Dolichoplana striata. Geoplana vaga. G. Mexicana. Bipaliumkewense. and B. adventitium (Hyman,1954). These animals are thought to have been introduced by way of imported plants, and in many cases they have been discovered in green-houses. B.kewense is the most ubiquitous of these exotics and seems wellestablished outdoors inthe midsouth and southeastern United States inEia, Georgia (Hyman, 1943), Louisiana, Alabama (Dundee and Dundee, 1963), North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi (Hyman, 1954),essee (Chandler, 1974) and Kentucky (Cole, 1969). B. kewense also has been found in other areas of the U.S. such as Oklahoma (Wallen,, Washington, D.C, New Jersey, Illinois, California, Hawaii and Puerto Rico (Hyman, 1943). Arelated species, B. adventitium. has beenibed from California and New York(Hyman, 1954; Klots, 1960; Dindal, 1970).»Two land planarians have been reported previously from Arkansas. A single specimen of Microplana atrocyaneus was collected at Stair,Marion County, onSeptember 6, 1942 (Hyman, 1943). Dalyet al. (1976, 1977) reported collecting Bipaliumkewense from central Arkansasleir studies on pseudoparasitism by this worm, and further information on those collections is reported in this note.B. kewense is a conspicuous flatworm, of 17 cm or more in length, witha pronounced lunate or spade-like head (Fig. 1A).These large landplanarians are brightly marked with fivedark brown stripes running the length of the body ona lightbrown or olivaceous background. B.kewenseis easily seen but random searching through what appears to be typical habitat is usually unrewarding due to its relative scarcity. To increasecollecting efficiency, the assistance of the Arkansas Gazette was requested, and the general public was asked to report the location of theseanimals in the Little Rock area. Field trips were made in response to these reports which provided ten sites at which successful collections of B.kewense were made. These sites were distributed randomly inthe urban areas of LittleRock and NorthLittle Rock (Pulaski Co.), but no sightingswere made from rural or farm areas. The planarians were found under wet boards, logs, or rotting trees. Several worms were usually found at onetime, and a few sites yielded more worms on repeat visits. The most productive area was a semi-natural back yard (pesticides were not used). Atthis site, numerous B. kewense were removed from under old railroad ties and concrete patio slabs. Large specimens of B. kewense also werereported on driveways in Little Rock after a heavy rain. Since these animals cannot survive submersion in water (Hyman, 1951), the rain musthave stimulated the worms to migrate to escape flooded conditions in their usual habitat. Greenhouses were visited but, with one exception, landplanarians were not found. At one nursery planaria were collected from the bottom of metal buckets used forholding saplings or bushes that werekept constantly watered. Approximately 70-80 fullydifferentiated and asexually produced fragments (zooids) of B.kewense were ultimately col-lected during the spring and early summer of 1971 and 1972. Also, at this time Dr. Arthur Johnson ofHendrix College reported that a student hadfound one specimen ofB.kewense in Conway (FaulknerCo.) that had measured 17 cm long. Inrecent years the senior author has notbeen able tofind these worms at collection sites which were previously productive. The recent lack of sightings in the central Arkansas area may be related tothe relatively severe winters several years prior to 1980. Barnwell (1969) has suggested cold as a factor restricting the distribution of B. kewense.However, two specimens were reported to the senior author from the southern section of the state in early fall 1979, and late spring 1980, atCamden (Ouachita Co.), indicating that B.kewense has not disappeared from Arkansas.Inthe summer of 1974 another exotic land planarian was brought to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, (UAMS). This speci-men was discovered under a rock byDr. Robert Lowery in aback yard across the street from the UAMS.This planarian was flat, elongated, pointedatboth ends and bluish-black (Fig. lb).Minute eyespots were found on the peripheral edge of the wormand extended along each side to about1/5 ofits length. This planarian measured 6.5 cm inlength by 1 cm in width. The initial appearance of the worm suggested that it was Geoplanavaga. Incontrast toB. kewense. G. vaga has been found infrequently inthe U.S., having been reported from California (Hyman, 1943), Georgia(Olewine, 1972), and Texas (Barnwell,1978). However, upon microscopic examination of the genitalia (a major taxonomic feature ofgeoplanids),the penis did not match the original description forG. vaga byHyman (1943). Sections of this specimen have been sent outside the country to anauthority onGeoplana taxonomy for further study. The organism is apparently either a new species ofGeoplana or a species of Geoplana newlydescribed inthe United States, or both.Figure 1. (a) A fullydifferentiated Bipalium kewense showing thespade-like head and the longitudinal, dark linear stripes. (B) Geo-plana sp. found in the central Arkansas (LittleRock) area. The anter-ior end of this land planarian is more slender and pointed than theposterior end. Both figures are approximately life-size.CHANDLER, C.M. 1974. The land planarian, Bipalium kewenseMosely, 1878, inMiddle Tennessee. J. Tenn. Acad. Sci. 49:128-129.LITERATURE CITEDBARNWELL, G. M.1969. The adaptability and distribution of theland planarian, Bipaliumkewense. J. Biol.Psychol. 11:30-32.COLE, M. F. 1969. A record of the occurrence of the exotic landplanarian, Bipalium kewense in Calloway County, Kentucky.Trans. Ky.Acad. Sci. 30:71.BARNWELL, G.M. 1978. Asexually-reproducing terrestrial planar-ianinSan Antonio. The Southwest. Nat. 23:151-152.83Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 35 [1981], Art. 22https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol35/iss1/2284 Arkansas Academy of Science Proceedings, Vol.XXXV,1981DALY,J. J., H.E. FARRIS and H.M.MATTHEWS. 1976. Pseudo-parasitism of dogs and cats by the land planarian, Bipaliumkewense. VM/SAC71:1540-1542.DALY,J. I.,H.M.MATTHEWS and H.E. FARRIS. 1977. Evidenceagainst gastrointestinal pseudoparasitism by the land planarian,Bipaliumkewense Mosely 1878. Health Lab. Sci. 14:39-43.DINDAL,D. L. 1970. Feeding behavior of a terrestrial turbellarianBipaliumadventitium. Amer. Midi.Nat. 83:635-637.DUNDEE, D. S. and H. A.DUNDEE. 1963. Observations on theland planarian Bipalium kewense Mosely in the Gulf Coast.Systm. Zool. 12:36-37.HYMAN,L.H. 1943. Endemic and exotic land planarians in theUnited States with a discussion of necessary changes of namesintheRhynchodemidae. Amer. Mus. Nov.No. 1241, 12 pp.HYMAN,L. H. 1951. The Invertebrates: Platyhelminthes andRhynchocoela. The acoelomate Bilateria. Vol.II.McGraw-Hill,New York,550 pp.HYMAN,L.H. 1954. Some land planarians of the United States andEurope, with remarks on nomenclature. Araer. Mus. Nov. No1667, 21pp.KLOTS, A.B. 1960. A terrestrial flatworm well established in thenortheastern United States. Syst. Zool.9:33-34.OGREN, R. E. 1955. Ecological observations on the occurrence ofRhynchodemus, a terrestrial turbellarian. Trans. Amer. Micro-scop. Soc. 74:54-60.OLEWINE, D. A.1972. Further observations inGeorgia on the landplanarians, Bipaliumkewense and Geoplana vaga (Turbellaria;Tricladida; Terricola). ASB Bull.19:88.WALLEN,I.E. 1954. Aland planarian inOklahoma. Trans. Amer.Microscop. Soc. 73:193.JAMESJ. DALY.Department ofMicrobiology and Immunology. University ofArkansas forMedical Sciences. Little Rock. Arkansas 72205 andJULIAN T. DARLINGTON. Department ofBiology, Southwestern at Memphis. Memphis, Tennessee 38112.ADDITIONALRECORDS AND UPDATES ON THE ARKANSAS FLORADuring 1979 and 1980 the Arkansas Natural Heritage Inventory Program conducted field surveys to assess vascular plantrarity in the state.Five taxa were discovered new to the flora ofArkansas:Psoralea digitata T.&G. var. digitata. MILLERCOUNTY; scattered ina sandy churchyard northwest of Doddridge about 4.0 Km north of Hwy.160 and Hwy. 237 junction. Davis and Krai 2689, 25 June 1980. Shinners (Field and Laboratory 19:14-25, 1951) cites a Nuttall voucher of thistaxon from "sandhills of the Red River, Arkansas Territory." Since it is impossible that this voucher was collected in either Oklahoma or Arkan-sas, it should be treated as a new record inArkansas.Tradescantia reverchonii Bush. MILLERCOUNTY; sparse on very sandy soils northwest of Doddridge about 1.1 Km south of the junction ofHwy.237 and Hwy.134, T18S R28W, Sec. 17, E WNW V*.Davis andTucker 2580, 17 June 1980.Aletris aurea Walt. MILLERCOUNTY; local ina moist, mowed pine-barren about 2.4 Km north of Fouke on west side ofHwy.71, T17S R27W,Sec. 9, SW >A NW %. Davisand Tucker 2547.Xyrisbaldwiniana R. &S. CALHOUN COUNTY; small remnant ofsavannah inrailroad and gravel road rights-of-way, 2.1Km north of Hwy.172along road parallelingrailroad east of Hwy.67. Davis and Roberts 2606.Rhynchospora rariflora (Michx.)Ell.CALHOUN COUNTY; same location as above cited Xvris. Roberts and Davis 1500The Rhynchospora rariflora voucher is deposited inVanderbilt University and the remaining vouchers are filedinArkansas Tech University.Four species which had previously been reported to Arkansas were confirmed with vouchers. Demaree (Taxodium 1:1-88, 1943) reportedRhynchospora cephalantha Gray, but the location of the voucher was unkknown until located inFebruary, 1980 at Vanderbilt University. Thisvoucher is annotated by Robert Krai. Carex latebracteata Waterfall has been vouched from Polk, Garland and Howard counties, and specimensare deposited in Vanderbilt University Herbarium (Davis and Tucker 2124; Davis, Pell and Smith 2146; Davis and Shepherd 2159). Anthaenantiarufa (Ell.)Schult. was confirmed from both Bradley and Drew counties (Davis and Pell 1896; Davis and Shepherd 2820b). This species wasreported without voucher by Moore (Proc. Ark.Acad. Sci. 15:9-25, 1961). Afterhaving been considered extirpated, fivestems of Cypripediumreginae Walter were discovered in Stone County (Davis and Foster 2414). The previous two species are deposited inArkansas Tech UniversityHerbarium.The author is grateful to Dr.Robert Krai and Jerry Roberts, who deferred reporting two of these state records. Thanksare d.ue to The Nature Conservancy under whose funding this research was conducted.RICHARD DAVIS. Arkansas Natural Heritage Inventory Program. Room 514. Continental Building.Mainand Markham. Little Rock. Ark.72201OBSERVATIONS ON THE OCCURRENCE OF CHALKY DEPOSITS ON FOREWINGS OFONCOMETOPIA ORBONA (F.) (HOMOPTERA: CICADELLIDAE)Many homopterans produce a chalky or waxy, white material. Metcalfe (1969) mentioned that the most distinctive feature of the nymphs ofthe delphacid Saccharosydne saccharivora (Westw.) was the white waxrods formed on the head, tail,and lateral abdomen. He added that amongadults the white wax was present onlyon females.84Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 35 [1981], Art. 22Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 1981

Occurrence of the Land Planarians Bipalium kewense and Geoplana Sp. in Arkansas

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Journal of the Arkansas Academy of ScienceVolume 35 Article 221981Occurrence of the Land Planarians Bipaliumkewense and Geoplana Sp. in ArkansasJames J. DalyUniversity of Arkansas for Medical SciencesJulian T. DarlingtonRhodes CollegeFollow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaasPart of the Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology CommonsThis article is available for use under the Creative Commons license: Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0). Users are able toread, download, copy, print, distribute, search, link to the full texts of these articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking priorpermission from the publisher or the author.This General Note is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the ArkansasAcademy of Science by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact scholar@uark.edu, ccmiddle@uark.edu.Recommended CitationDaly, James J. and Darlington, Julian T. (1981) "Occurrence of the Land Planarians Bipalium kewense and Geoplana Sp. in Arkansas,"Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science: Vol. 35 , Article 22.Available at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol35/iss1/2282 Arkansas Academy of Science Proceedings, Vol.XXXV,1981GENERAL NOTESWINTER FEEDING OF FINGERLING CHANNEL CATFISH IN CAGES*Private warmwater fish culture of channel catfish (Ictaluruspunctatus) inthe United States began inthe early 1950's (Brown, E. E., WorldFish Farming, Cultivation, and Economics 1977. AVIPublishing Co., Westport, Conn. 396 pp). Early culture techniques consisted of stocking,harvesting, and feeding catfish only during the warmer months. With both the refinement of culture techniques and increased marketingdemands, year-round production is increasing among commercial fish farmers. However, minimal research has been conducted on winter feedsand feeding practices for catfish production. Thus, a winter feeding experiment on cage culture was conducted to determine the practicality ofoverwintering fingerlingcatfish. The objectives of the study were to determine whether or not it wouldbe economically feasible to feed fingerlingcatfish incages and to observe fingerlinggrowth, survival, and general physical condition with and without supplemental feeding.Fingerling catfish were stocked 1 December 1980 and harvested 13 March 1981 fora total of 103 days. Three weight-counts were taken tostock an estimated 250 fingerlings ineach of six cages (2.5 kg of fingerlings). Fish were placed in 0.9 cubic meter floating cages anchored ina 1.6ha farm pond located on the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Agricultural Research Station. Cage construction was identical to that ofNewton and Merkowsky (1976. Using lights to attract insects for caged catfish. Ark.Farm Res. J., 25:8). Water below the cages ranged from 1.1to 1.6 meters indepth. Three cages of fingerling catfish were fed a 36% protein ration formulated as floating pellets. Feeding rate was based upondaily water temperature (Table 1). The other three cages received no supplemental feed, thereby serving as a control. Fed caged catfish finger-lings gained an average of 411 g, an increase of 16% over initial stocking weight (Table 2). Individuals showed a significant increase from anaverage of9.75 g to 12.59 g (Table 3). This gain was similar to that reported by Felts (1977. Effects of various winter feeding regimens on weightand body composition changes in channel catfish in ponds. M. S. Thesis, Auburn, University, 42 pp) for catfish reared in ponds during winter.Survival for the fed fishaveraged 95%. Fed caged fish each received a total of247 g of 36% protein ration. The catfish were fed on 43 days of the103 day trial.Average water temperature was 10° C (50° F) and ranged from 3.3° C (38° F) to 17.2° C (63° F). Dissolved oxygen was monitoredfivedays a week between 12:00 noon and 2:00 p.m. Dissolved oxygen averaged 11.1 ppm throughout the period.From review of the Literature of pond studies, itwas presumed that nonfed catfish would lose weight. Lovelland Sirikul(1974. Winter feed-ing of channel catfish. Proc. Twenty-eighth Ann. Conf. S. E. Assoc. Game and Fish Comm. 28:208-216) overwintered 0.45 kg catfish and reportedthat unfed fishlost 9. 1% of their body weight. Felts (1977) found that unfed overwintering catfish lost 6.3% of their body weight. The nonfed fishinthis study showed aslight weight gain (Table 2). Initialindividual weights were 9.75 g and final weights were 10.98 g. Survival for the nonfed fishaveraged 92%. The authors cannot state any definite reasons for the weight gain by nonfed catfish. Plans are to repeat this study to verify thisgain. Stomach content analyses willbe performed to determine if the fish are ingesting any natural organisms, such as zooplankton or small sun-fishes, that may be inthe cages.Table 1. Percent of rations fed to caged Table 2. Average weight gains and per- Table 3. Average individual sizes andfingerling catfish relative to daily water cent survival for fingerling catfish over- gains forcatfish overwintered in cages attemperature from 1 December 1980-13 wintered incages at UA-PB. UA-PB.March 1981.hunt body «il|kl fed U.t.r teiperecure'*"¦«*<!> »e g t g°" g »"rv "Ci|# .cocking -eight h.rv.it .eight gain(centigrade) <8> <8» <8>feed «£7 3 2,437 2,863 425 90 12.7t Tol05 7-10-5 2'*" !l>3S "7 l0° ' »•« 12.42 2.4710 10 "U ««"•!•• 2,»37 2,»»9 411 95 Av.r.f.. 9.75 12.59 2.U3.0 21-24 2 2.437 2.353 -«4 87 2 9~75 IoTtS T»3"""'"i t 2,437 2.608 178 89 * 9.75 11.67 1.926 2.437 2.721 284 100 6 9L7I5 10.50 0-75Aviriin 9.75 10.91 1.23Average! 2,437 2,561 124 92We wouldlike to express sincere appreciation to Dr. Scott H.Newton forassistance with this study and preparation ofThis study was supported by funds provided by USDA,SEA/CRPL95-113.the manuscript.'Published with the approval ofthe Director ofArkansas AgricultureExperiment StationD. B.BURKE and W. R. R0B1S0N, Department of Agriculture), University ofArkansas at Pine Bluff,Pine Bluff, Arkansas 71601.OCCURRENCE OF THE LAND PLANARIANS BIPALIUMKEWENSE AND GEOPLANA SP. INARKANSASLand planarians (Phylum Platyhelminthes, Order Tricladida; Suborder Terricola) are primarily long, slender flatworms found inmoist, darkhabitats such as under-leaf mold, boards, logs, and concrete slabs. These helminths are among the most primitive metazoans that can live suc-cessfully in a terrestrial environment. They require an atmosphere with highhumidity since prolonged exposure to air presents a danger ofdehy-dration. Aprotective mucous coat secreted by the planarians prevents dehydration, inpart, and this material can be seen as a noticeable slimetrail whichmarks the flatworm's migratory routes on land. The damp jungles of the tropics and subtropics are ideal for survivalof Terricola.where the most abundant numbers and greatest variety of species occur (Hyman, 1951). Fewer species of land planaria are found indigenous totemperate climates, such as Europe and North America, indicating that environmental factors other than humiditymay restrict the distribution ofthese invertebrates.In the United States a few, relatively small (12mm length) native land planarian species occur which include Microplana atrocyaneus. M-rufocephalata, Rhyncodemus sylvaticus, R. americanus, and Diporodemus indigenous. These helminths have been reported from various sites in82Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 35 [1981], Art. 22Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 1981Arkansas Academy of Science Proceedings, Vol.XXXV,1981 83the midwest and eastern United States (Hyman, 1954; Ogren, 1955). Several exotic species of land planarians apparently have been introduced tothe United States from the tropics, including Dolichoplana striata. Geoplana vaga. G. Mexicana. Bipaliumkewense. and B. adventitium (Hyman,1954). These animals are thought to have been introduced by way of imported plants, and in many cases they have been discovered in green-houses. B.kewense is the most ubiquitous of these exotics and seems wellestablished outdoors inthe midsouth and southeastern United States inEia, Georgia (Hyman, 1943), Louisiana, Alabama (Dundee and Dundee, 1963), North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi (Hyman, 1954),essee (Chandler, 1974) and Kentucky (Cole, 1969). B. kewense also has been found in other areas of the U.S. such as Oklahoma (Wallen,, Washington, D.C, New Jersey, Illinois, California, Hawaii and Puerto Rico (Hyman, 1943). Arelated species, B. adventitium. has beenibed from California and New York(Hyman, 1954; Klots, 1960; Dindal, 1970).»Two land planarians have been reported previously from Arkansas. A single specimen of Microplana atrocyaneus was collected at Stair,Marion County, onSeptember 6, 1942 (Hyman, 1943). Dalyet al. (1976, 1977) reported collecting Bipaliumkewense from central Arkansasleir studies on pseudoparasitism by this worm, and further information on those collections is reported in this note.B. kewense is a conspicuous flatworm, of 17 cm or more in length, witha pronounced lunate or spade-like head (Fig. 1A).These large landplanarians are brightly marked with fivedark brown stripes running the length of the body ona lightbrown or olivaceous background. B.kewenseis easily seen but random searching through what appears to be typical habitat is usually unrewarding due to its relative scarcity. To increasecollecting efficiency, the assistance of the Arkansas Gazette was requested, and the general public was asked to report the location of theseanimals in the Little Rock area. Field trips were made in response to these reports which provided ten sites at which successful collections of B.kewense were made. These sites were distributed randomly inthe urban areas of LittleRock and NorthLittle Rock (Pulaski Co.), but no sightingswere made from rural or farm areas. The planarians were found under wet boards, logs, or rotting trees. Several worms were usually found at onetime, and a few sites yielded more worms on repeat visits. The most productive area was a semi-natural back yard (pesticides were not used). Atthis site, numerous B. kewense were removed from under old railroad ties and concrete patio slabs. Large specimens of B. kewense also werereported on driveways in Little Rock after a heavy rain. Since these animals cannot survive submersion in water (Hyman, 1951), the rain musthave stimulated the worms to migrate to escape flooded conditions in their usual habitat. Greenhouses were visited but, with one exception, landplanarians were not found. At one nursery planaria were collected from the bottom of metal buckets used forholding saplings or bushes that werekept constantly watered. Approximately 70-80 fullydifferentiated and asexually produced fragments (zooids) of B.kewense were ultimately col-lected during the spring and early summer of 1971 and 1972. Also, at this time Dr. Arthur Johnson ofHendrix College reported that a student hadfound one specimen ofB.kewense in Conway (FaulknerCo.) that had measured 17 cm long. Inrecent years the senior author has notbeen able tofind these worms at collection sites which were previously productive. The recent lack of sightings in the central Arkansas area may be related tothe relatively severe winters several years prior to 1980. Barnwell (1969) has suggested cold as a factor restricting the distribution of B. kewense.However, two specimens were reported to the senior author from the southern section of the state in early fall 1979, and late spring 1980, atCamden (Ouachita Co.), indicating that B.kewense has not disappeared from Arkansas.Inthe summer of 1974 another exotic land planarian was brought to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, (UAMS). This speci-men was discovered under a rock byDr. Robert Lowery in aback yard across the street from the UAMS.This planarian was flat, elongated, pointedatboth ends and bluish-black (Fig. lb).Minute eyespots were found on the peripheral edge of the wormand extended along each side to about1/5 ofits length. This planarian measured 6.5 cm inlength by 1 cm in width. The initial appearance of the worm suggested that it was Geoplanavaga. Incontrast toB. kewense. G. vaga has been found infrequently inthe U.S., having been reported from California (Hyman, 1943), Georgia(Olewine, 1972), and Texas (Barnwell,1978). However, upon microscopic examination of the genitalia (a major taxonomic feature ofgeoplanids),the penis did not match the original description forG. vaga byHyman (1943). Sections of this specimen have been sent outside the country to anauthority onGeoplana taxonomy for further study. The organism is apparently either a new species ofGeoplana or a species of Geoplana newlydescribed inthe United States, or both.Figure 1. (a) A fullydifferentiated Bipalium kewense showing thespade-like head and the longitudinal, dark linear stripes. (B) Geo-plana sp. found in the central Arkansas (LittleRock) area. The anter-ior end of this land planarian is more slender and pointed than theposterior end. Both figures are approximately life-size.CHANDLER, C.M. 1974. The land planarian, Bipalium kewenseMosely, 1878, inMiddle Tennessee. J. Tenn. Acad. Sci. 49:128-129.LITERATURE CITEDBARNWELL, G. M.1969. The adaptability and distribution of theland planarian, Bipaliumkewense. J. Biol.Psychol. 11:30-32.COLE, M. F. 1969. A record of the occurrence of the exotic landplanarian, Bipalium kewense in Calloway County, Kentucky.Trans. Ky.Acad. Sci. 30:71.BARNWELL, G.M. 1978. Asexually-reproducing terrestrial planar-ianinSan Antonio. The Southwest. Nat. 23:151-152.83Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 35 [1981], Art. 22http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol35/iss1/2284 Arkansas Academy of Science Proceedings, Vol.XXXV,1981DALY,J. J., H.E. FARRIS and H.M.MATTHEWS. 1976. Pseudo-parasitism of dogs and cats by the land planarian, Bipaliumkewense. VM/SAC71:1540-1542.DALY,J. I.,H.M.MATTHEWS and H.E. FARRIS. 1977. Evidenceagainst gastrointestinal pseudoparasitism by the land planarian,Bipaliumkewense Mosely 1878. Health Lab. Sci. 14:39-43.DINDAL,D. L. 1970. Feeding behavior of a terrestrial turbellarianBipaliumadventitium. Amer. Midi.Nat. 83:635-637.DUNDEE, D. S. and H. A.DUNDEE. 1963. Observations on theland planarian Bipalium kewense Mosely in the Gulf Coast.Systm. Zool. 12:36-37.HYMAN,L.H. 1943. Endemic and exotic land planarians in theUnited States with a discussion of necessary changes of namesintheRhynchodemidae. Amer. Mus. Nov.No. 1241, 12 pp.HYMAN,L. H. 1951. The Invertebrates: Platyhelminthes andRhynchocoela. The acoelomate Bilateria. Vol.II.McGraw-Hill,New York,550 pp.HYMAN,L.H. 1954. Some land planarians of the United States andEurope, with remarks on nomenclature. Araer. Mus. Nov. No1667, 21pp.KLOTS, A.B. 1960. A terrestrial flatworm well established in thenortheastern United States. Syst. Zool.9:33-34.OGREN, R. E. 1955. Ecological observations on the occurrence ofRhynchodemus, a terrestrial turbellarian. Trans. Amer. Micro-scop. Soc. 74:54-60.OLEWINE, D. A.1972. Further observations inGeorgia on the landplanarians, Bipaliumkewense and Geoplana vaga (Turbellaria;Tricladida; Terricola). ASB Bull.19:88.WALLEN,I.E. 1954. Aland planarian inOklahoma. Trans. Amer.Microscop. Soc. 73:193.JAMESJ. DALY.Department ofMicrobiology and Immunology. University ofArkansas forMedical Sciences. Little Rock. Arkansas 72205 andJULIAN T. DARLINGTON. Department ofBiology, Southwestern at Memphis. Memphis, Tennessee 38112.ADDITIONALRECORDS AND UPDATES ON THE ARKANSAS FLORADuring 1979 and 1980 the Arkansas Natural Heritage Inventory Program conducted field surveys to assess vascular plantrarity in the state.Five taxa were discovered new to the flora ofArkansas:Psoralea digitata T.&G. var. digitata. MILLERCOUNTY; scattered ina sandy churchyard northwest of Doddridge about 4.0 Km north of Hwy.160 and Hwy. 237 junction. Davis and Krai 2689, 25 June 1980. Shinners (Field and Laboratory 19:14-25, 1951) cites a Nuttall voucher of thistaxon from "sandhills of the Red River, Arkansas Territory." Since it is impossible that this voucher was collected in either Oklahoma or Arkan-sas, it should be treated as a new record inArkansas.Tradescantia reverchonii Bush. MILLERCOUNTY; sparse on very sandy soils northwest of Doddridge about 1.1 Km south of the junction ofHwy.237 and Hwy.134, T18S R28W, Sec. 17, E WNW V*.Davis andTucker 2580, 17 June 1980.Aletris aurea Walt. MILLERCOUNTY; local ina moist, mowed pine-barren about 2.4 Km north of Fouke on west side ofHwy.71, T17S R27W,Sec. 9, SW >A NW %. Davisand Tucker 2547.Xyrisbaldwiniana R. &S. CALHOUN COUNTY; small remnant ofsavannah inrailroad and gravel road rights-of-way, 2.1Km north of Hwy.172along road parallelingrailroad east of Hwy.67. Davis and Roberts 2606.Rhynchospora rariflora (Michx.)Ell.CALHOUN COUNTY; same location as above cited Xvris. Roberts and Davis 1500The Rhynchospora rariflora voucher is deposited inVanderbilt University and the remaining vouchers are filedinArkansas Tech University.Four species which had previously been reported to Arkansas were confirmed with vouchers. Demaree (Taxodium 1:1-88, 1943) reportedRhynchospora cephalantha Gray, but the location of the voucher was unkknown until located inFebruary, 1980 at Vanderbilt University. Thisvoucher is annotated by Robert Krai. Carex latebracteata Waterfall has been vouched from Polk, Garland and Howard counties, and specimensare deposited in Vanderbilt University Herbarium (Davis and Tucker 2124; Davis, Pell and Smith 2146; Davis and Shepherd 2159). Anthaenantiarufa (Ell.)Schult. was confirmed from both Bradley and Drew counties (Davis and Pell 1896; Davis and Shepherd 2820b). This species wasreported without voucher by Moore (Proc. Ark.Acad. Sci. 15:9-25, 1961). Afterhaving been considered extirpated, fivestems of Cypripediumreginae Walter were discovered in Stone County (Davis and Foster 2414). The previous two species are deposited inArkansas Tech UniversityHerbarium.The author is grateful to Dr.Robert Krai and Jerry Roberts, who deferred reporting two of these state records. Thanksare d.ue to The Nature Conservancy under whose funding this research was conducted.RICHARD DAVIS. Arkansas Natural Heritage Inventory Program. Room 514. Continental Building.Mainand Markham. Little Rock. Ark.72201OBSERVATIONS ON THE OCCURRENCE OF CHALKY DEPOSITS ON FOREWINGS OFONCOMETOPIA ORBONA (F.) (HOMOPTERA: CICADELLIDAE)Many homopterans produce a chalky or waxy, white material. Metcalfe (1969) mentioned that the most distinctive feature of the nymphs ofthe delphacid Saccharosydne saccharivora (Westw.) was the white waxrods formed on the head, tail,and lateral abdomen. He added that amongadults the white wax was present onlyon females.84Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 35 [1981], Art. 22Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 1981

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Occurrence of the Land Planarians Bipalium kewense and Geoplana Sp. in Arkansas

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