Rockbridge County Cave Flatworm
Sphalloplana virginiana Hyman, 1945
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Platyhelminthes |
| Class | Turbellaria |
| Order | Tricladida |
| Family | Kenkiidae |
| Genus | Sphalloplana |
| Species | Sphalloplana virginiana Hyman, 1945 |
Description
Diagnostic characters
- Ecological class
- Stygobiont
- Realm
- Aquatic
- Troglomorphy
- Troglomorphic
- Maximum length
- 12 mm
Distribution
Type locality
Showalter Cave, Rockbridge Co. VA
Range
Known from two counties in Virginia in the Appalachians karst region.
Continent
North America
Country
United States
States and provinces
Virginia
Counties
- Virginia
- Lee, Rockbridge
Karst regions
Appalachians
Specimens
Collections holding material
| Institution | Lots |
|---|---|
| National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution | 1 |
1 cataloged lot 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 1 specimen records (CSV) Institution, catalog number, type status and preparation. No coordinates.
Conservation and management
NatureServe
G1 Critically Imperiled
Global rank last reviewed 21 August 2002.
Subnational ranks
- Virginia
- 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
- Carpenter, J.H. 1970a. Systematics and ecology of cave planarians of the United States. University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA. 213 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
- 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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