The invasive land flatworm Obama nungara in La Réunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean, the first report of the species for Africa

Abstract

The land flatworm Obama nungara, a species originating from South America and already invasive in many European countries, is recorded from La Réunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean. This is the first record of O. nungara from this locality and also the first record of the species for Africa. Two specimens were collected, one from Petite France (commune of Saint Paul) and one from La Plaine des Grègues (commune of Saint Joseph); the two localities are widely separated, one in the Western part and one in the South-eastern part of the island. This suggests that the species is already present in several locations in La Réunion. The sightings were communicated to us in 2021, but it is likely that the species is already present since 2020. A molecular analysis of the specimen from Petite France showed that it had the same cox1 haplotype as specimens previously recorded from several countries of Europe; it is hypothesized that the species was imported from Europe, probably from France. We mapped climatic suitability of the species in La Réunion and found that O. nungara could potentially invade a large part of the island. One record was apparently associated with the transport of plates of travertine, a construction material which has numerous cavities, suitable for the transport and survival of adult or cocoons of land flatworms.

The invasive land flatworm Obama nungara in La Réunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean, the first report of the species for Africa

“…We thank the participants in our citizen science project. After discussion with the Editors and in accordance with the rules of this journal, a preliminary version of this article was published as a preprint (Justine et al, 2022b).…”