Land Planarian (Bipalium kewense)
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There are no terrestrial flatworms native to the United States, but Bipalium kewense is established in many areas of the country. It originally came here with potted plants, and that is how it continues to spread. Belonging to a very primitive class of animals, the planarian is a welcome curiousity in the Hartman Prehistoric Garden.
When conditions are right, moist and cool, the land planarians creep around like slugs, only much longer and thinner (up to about 8 inches long), their sensitive head feeling its way along. They eat worms, slugs, and each other. The rest of the time, they hide in dark, damp areas under rocks and logs to conserve moisture, illustrated in the pictured below.
Land planarians are harmless, although they are quite slimy to touch. They sometimes enter homes after heavy rains to avoid drowning, only to dry up and gross out the unlucky person who finds the desiccated carcass on the floor.
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class: Turbellaria / order: Tricladida / family: Bipaliidae / genus: Bipalium / species: kewense
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