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IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 27(2):293–294 • AUG 2020
A Novel Natural History Phenomenon:
A Free-living Marine Flatworm (Polycladida)
Attached to a Common Asian Toad
(Duttaphrynus melanostictus)
Md. Fazle Rabbe1, Deponkor Kumar Roy2, Nur Mohammad3, Fahmida Tasnim Liza4, Mandira Mukutmoni4,
Md. Mahabub Alam1, Aleya Begum4, and M. Firoj Jaman1
1Wildlife Biology, 2Genetics and Molecular Biology, 3Fisheries, 4Parasitology, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
(fazlerabbedu@gmail.com)
293
IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • VOL15, NO 4 • DEC 2008 189TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FEATURE ARTICLES
Chasing Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin:
On the Road to Understanding the Ecology and Conservation of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...................... Joshua M. Kapfer 190
The Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus grenadensis) and Humans on Grenada:
A Hypothetical Excursion ............................................................................................................................Robert W. Henderson 198
RESEARCH ARTICLES
The Texas Horned Lizard in Central and Western Texas ....................... Emily Henry, Jason Brewer, Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry 204
The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in Florida
............................................. Brian J. Camposano, Kenneth L. Krysko, Kevin M. Enge, Ellen M. Donlan, and Michael Granatosky 212
CONSERVATION ALERT
World’s Mammals in Crisis ............................................................................................................................................................. 220
More Than Mammals ...................................................................................................................................................................... 223
The “Dow Jones Index” of Biodiversity ........................................................................................................................................... 225
HUSBANDRY
Captive Care of the Central Netted Dragon ....................................................................................................... Shannon Plummer 226
PROFILE
Kraig Adler: A Lifetime Promoting Herpetology ................................................................................................ Michael L. Treglia 234
COMMENTARY
The Turtles Have Been Watching Me ........................................................................................................................ Eric Gangloff 238
BOOK REVIEW
Threatened Amphibians of the World edited by S.N. Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox,
R. Berridge, P. Ramani, and B.E. Young .............................................................................................................. Robert Powell 243
CONSERVATION RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Conservation Research Reports ................................. 245
NATURAL HISTORY RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Reports on Natural History ................................. 247
NEWBRIEFS ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 248
EDITORIAL INFORMATION ..................................................................................................................................................... 251
FOCUS ON CONSERVATION: A Project You Can Support ............................................................................................... 252
Front Cover. Shannon Plummer.
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Back Cover. Michael Kern
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IRCF
REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS
CONSERVATION AND NATURAL HISTORY
Copyright © 2020. Md. Fazle Rabbe. All rights reserved.
WWW.IRCF.ORG
On 14 March 2018, during a nocturnal field sur-
vey of agricultural land on Nijhum Dwip Island,
Noakhali, Bangladesh (22°02'22.0"N, 91°00'07.8"E), we
found a Marine Flatworm (Platyhelminthes: Turbellaria:
Polycladida) attached to the dorsum of a Common Asian
Toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus) (Fig. 1). The toad was not
calling and we found no other anurans in the vicinity.
The Common Asian Toad is widely distributed in
Bangladesh, where it inhabits diverse habitats, including agri-
cultural fields (Hasan et al. 2014; Khan 2015). Polyclads are
carnivorous predators of marine invertebrates and live in all
types of marine environments, with only three species known
to occur in limnic or brackish waters (Galleni et al. 1980;
Bahia Maceira 2017). We identified the worm to order in the
laboratory based on morphological characteristics described in
Galleni et al. (1980). It was 12.5 mm in length and 9 mm in
width; the body was transparent, flattened, leaf-like, roughly
oval in shape and brownish in color; the digestive tract was
Fig. 1. A free-living Marine Flatworm (Polycladida) attached to the dorsum of a Common Asian Toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus) on Nijhum Dwip
Island, Noakhali, Bangladesh (left); dorsal view of the polyclad with eyespots anteriorly (upper right); ventral view of the polyclad with pseudotentacles
(lower right). Photographs by Md. Fazle Rabbe.
IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians ISSN 1098-6324
294
elongated with seven intestinal branches, the first six of which
were fully segmented whereas the last branch was partially
segmented; two oval eyespots (2 mm from the anterior border
and 1 mm apart) were evident near the first branch of the
intestine. A sticky mucous facilitated attachment to the toad,
and ventral pseudotentacles enabled it to move quickly (about
3 sec to leave the body of the toad).
Tidal flow through a canal connected with the sea can
flood the low-lying agricultural field on Nijhum Dwip. This
might have allowed this polyclad to enter the field through
saltwater flowing through a canal connected with the sea. The
specimen was taken into the laboratory and preserved for fur-
ther examination.
We cannot explain how or why the polyclad became
attached to the toad. However, to the best of our knowledge,
the attachment of a polyclad to a toad is described nowhere
else in the literature, leading us to conclude that our observa-
tion is a novel natural history phenomenon.
Acknowledgments
We thank Professor Dr. Niamul Naser for managing field-
work on Nijhum Dwip Island.
Literature Cited
Bahia Maceira, J. 2017. Polycladida Biodiversity and Systematics: An Integrative
Approach. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Faculty of Biology, Ludwig-
Maximilian University, Munich, Germany.
Galleni, L., P. Tongiorgi, E. Ferrero, and U. Salghetti, 1980. Stylochus mediterraneus
(Turbellaria: Polycladida), predator on the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis.
Marine Biology 55: 317–326.
Hasan, M.K., M.M.H. Khan, and M.M. Feeroz. 2014. Amphibians and Reptiles
of Bangladesh – A Field Guide. Arannayk Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Khan, M.A.R. 2015. Wildlife of Bangladesh: Checklist-cum-guide. M.J. Alam,
Chayabithi, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 27(2):293–294 • AUG 2020RABBE ET AL.