Land Planarian (hammerhead flatworm) (Family Geoplanidae) on Mar 19, 2018

Originally reported as Land Mollusk or Worm (unknown species) (various)

Submitter has sample

Description of specimen

Yellow tan flatworm with a fan shaped head which it could point to being rather spade shaped and a dark dorsal stripe. Believed to be Bipalium adventitium. I found the worm coiled up in some soil I was breaking up to collect night crawlers from. The soil was bare from being covered with black paper and having pole beans planted there the previous year and was yielding a decent amount of night crawlers before I found the specimen.

Commentary

Thank you for your report and apologies you did not receive a timely reply. Flathead worms in Oregon are still not well understood. There are likely several non-native species present, but it's not known what their impacts may be. I found an Extension note from 2014, https://ask2.extension.org/kb/faq.php?id=215568, but can't find anything more recent. I've added the ability to report these species to the Hotline now, so we can keep track of reports. Cheers, Lindsey

Lindsey Wise
May 17, 2021, 8:04 a.m.