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Cave Biology Data Portal
Subterranean biodiversity of North America and around the globe
AnimaliaPlatyhelminthesTurbellariaTricladidaKenkiidaeSphalloplana

Hoffmaster's Cave Flatworm
Sphalloplana hoffmasteri (Hyman, 1954)

Taxonomy

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Platyhelminthes
Class Turbellaria
Order Tricladida
Family Kenkiidae
Genus Sphalloplana
Species Sphalloplana hoffmasteri (Hyman, 1954)

Synonyms

Kenkia hoffmasteri (Hyman, 1954)
Sphalloplana hoffmasteri (Hyman, 1954)
Macrocotyla hoffmasteri Hyman, 1954
Speophila hoffmasteri Hyman, 1954

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class
Stygobiont
Realm
Aquatic
Troglomorphy
Troglomorphic
Maximum body length
15 mm

Distribution

Type locality

Blowhole Cave, Pendleton Co. WV

Range

Known from two states in the Appalachians karst region.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Maryland, West Virginia

Counties

County-level records have not been compiled for this taxon. Distribution is recorded at state and karst-region level.

Karst regions

Appalachians

Specimens

Type material

Holotype
USNM 24616 · National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
Paratype
USNM 24617 · National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

Collections holding material

InstitutionLots
National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution 12

12 cataloged lots in 1 collection. 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 12 specimen records (CSV) Institution, catalog number, type status and preparation. No coordinates.

Conservation and management

NatureServe

G3G4 Vulnerable to Apparently Secure

G1G2G3▲G4▲G5

Global rank last reviewed 21 August 2002.

Subnational ranks

Maryland
S1 Critically Imperiled
West Virginia
S2 Imperiled

State and federal status

Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

Other resources

Catalogue of Life
4YTTL
GBIF
2502923
ITIS
54527
iNaturalist
171596

How to cite this account

Sphalloplana hoffmasteri (Hyman, 1954). Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-1426. https://cavebiology.org/species/sphalloplana-hoffmasteri/ (accessed 3 September 2026).

Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.

Spotted something wrong on this page? Report a correction. Accounts are compiled from many sources and corrections from people who know the group are the most useful email we get.

Cave Biology Data Portal

Species accounts, distributions, and conservation status for the subterranean fauna of North America and around the globe, with resources for the cave and karst research community.

Text and data CC BY 4.0. Images all rights reserved unless stated.

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