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Abstract

Invasive species form an important threat to autochthonous biodiversity and ecosystems,
as they may negatively affect native species. Pentacoelum kazukolinda is an invasive
maricolan flatworm with a freshwater ecology that was already known to be widely
distributed in the Northern hemisphere: USA (Hawaii), Spain, Germany, The
Netherlands, and Japan. Here we detail the first records from Chile, Peru, and continental
USA. These new records from North and South America were substantiated by
observations on the very characteristic external appearance of the specimens, their
anatomy, and/or molecular data. We demonstrate for the first time that the animals
are capable of regeneration. At the newly discovered localities in South America,
this flatworm co-occurs with introduced snails, which may constitute its prey
species, and with introduced aquatic plants that may have facilitated its introduction
into the New World.