Invasion of a new species. Amaga pseudobama under the observation of scientists
They are brown, flat, shiny, a few centimeters long and covered with a slimy substance that helps them move around. They kill beneficial invertebrate species, which pose a threat to the stability of ecosystems. A new species of Amaga pseudobama worm “invaded” at least three states in the USA. The team investigating its habits included a Polish scientist, Dr. Romain Gastineau.
According to “The Guardian”, the new species of flatworm is already found in three US states. It is commonly found in North Carolina, where it appeared around 2020. The species also occurs in Florida and Georgia and “may have already invaded other states,” scientists said in a Tuesday press release about the new species and its habits.
Amaga pseudobama. A Pole in the research team
The team researching Amaga pseudobama included a Pole, Dr. hab. Romain Gastineau, DNA sequencing specialist from the Institute of Marine and Environmental Sciences of the University of Szczecin.
– The problem with them (Amaga pseudobama – editor’s note) is that they are predators of soil invertebrates and eat mainly earthworms. And earthworms already have problems due to, for example, chemicals. In some places, such as England and Scotland, this is a serious problem, because it is already 20%. fewer earthworms – the researcher pointed out in an interview with the Polish Press Agency.
Earthworms play a key role in the ecosystem, responsible for, among others, for soil aeration, removal of excess water and processing of organic waste.
Amaga pseudobama, a new species of flatworm in the USA
At the beginning of the study, a team of scientists, consisting of researchers from the French National Museum of Natural History in Paris, Drexel University and North Carolina State University in the United States, and James Cook University in Australia, suspected that the flatworm encountered in the United States belonged to the species Obama nungara – an equally invasive a species that has spread across Europe, Brazil and Argentina, destroying populations of small snails, earthworms and other small invertebrate animals.
However, further research revealed that the flatworms living in North Carolina are a completely new discovery.
– No one has been interested in these types of animals for over 100 years, except for a few invertebrate specialists. Now there has been widespread interest, including among people outside the scientific community, because they are invasive. Thanks to this, we discover, for example, new species, said Dr. Gastineau.
Research on the new worm is still ongoing. In a Tuesday press release, Matt Bertone, co-author of the paper on the discovery and director of the Plant and Insect Disease Clinic at North Carolina State University, said the newly identified flatworm “has not been observed in the wild… so not much is known yet about it.” how he interacts with it.”
He added that for now it is difficult to clearly determine what threat Amaga pseudobama poses to other invertebrates in the USA. “To find out, we need to study these species,” he emphasized. “The first step in this process is to clearly identify the species and give it a name.”
Flatworms in us and around us
Flatworms, also known as flatworms, are invertebrates with a long, flattened body. Many of them are internal parasites of animals and humans, e.g. tapeworm, which can reach over ten meters in length. However, not all flatworms are parasites. This is evidenced by fish that live mainly in aquatic environments.
