Buchanan's Cave Flatworm
Sphalloplana buchanani (Hyman, 1937)
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Platyhelminthes |
| Class | Turbellaria |
| Order | Tricladida |
| Family | Kenkiidae |
| Genus | Sphalloplana |
| Species | Sphalloplana buchanani (Hyman, 1937) |
Synonyms
- Speophila buchanani Hyman, 1937 (prior combination, CoL)
Description
Diagnostic characters
- Ecological class
- Stygobiont
- Realm
- Aquatic
- Troglomorphy
- Troglomorphic
- Maximum length
- 15 mm
Distribution
Type locality
Mammoth Cave, Edmonson Co. KY
Range
Known from two counties across three states across two karst regions.
Continent
North America
Country
United States
States and provinces
Kentucky, Maryland, Tennessee
Counties
- Kentucky
- Edmonson
- Tennessee
- Davidson
Karst regions
Appalachians, Interior Low Plateau
Specimens
Collections holding material
| Institution | Lots |
|---|---|
| Naturalis Biodiversity Center | 8 |
| Yale Peabody Museum | 2 |
10 cataloged lots in 2 collections. Compiled from GBIF and not an exhaustive census: many collections are not yet digitised, and holdings are added continually. Search GBIF for specimen records.
Download all 10 specimen records (CSV) Institution, catalog number, type status and preparation. No coordinates.
Conservation and management
NatureServe
G1G2 Critically Imperiled to Imperiled
Global rank last reviewed 21 August 2002.
Subnational ranks
- Kentucky
- S1S2 Critically Imperiled to Imperiled
- Maryland
- SNR Unranked
- Tennessee
- S1 Critically Imperiled
Ranks looked up 23 August 2026. Conservation status changes, and a rank here is as current as that date and no more.
State and federal status
Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Other resources
References
- Barr, T.C., Jr. & Kuehne, R.A. 1971. Ecological studies in the Mammoth Cave system of Kentucky. II. The Ecosystem. Annales de Speleologie 26: 47–96. doi:10.5038/1827-806X.3.1.10
- Carpenter, J.H. 1970a. Systematics and ecology of cave planarians of the United States. University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA. 213 pp.
- Harker, D.F., Jr. & Barr, T.C., Jr. 1980. Caves and associated fauna of the Western Kentucky coal field, Volume 2. Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission, Frankfurt, Kentucky, USA. 114 pp.
- Kenk, R. 1977a. Freshwater tricads (Turbellaria) of North America, IX: The genus Sphalloplana. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 246: 1–38. https://repository.si.edu/bitstreams/d38e70a7-fb46–474c-9ea0-f202898980ba/download. details
- Lewis, J.J. 1988. The systematics, zoogeography and life history of the troglobitic isopods of the Interior Plateaus of the eastern United States. University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA. 281 pp.
- Nicholas, G. 1960. Checklist of macroscopic troglobitic organisms of the United States. The American Midland Naturalist 64: 123–160. doi:10.2307/2422897
This account was last revised 28 August 2026. Conservation ranks were looked up 23 August 2026.
How to cite this account
Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.
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