Biodiversity & Conservation

A flatworm - Procerodes littoralis

A flatworm

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Distribution map

Procerodes littoralis recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

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Procerodes littoralis is not listed under any importance categories.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy Taxon English term
Phylum Platyhelminthes Flatworms
Class Turbellaria
Authority (Stroem, 1768)
Recent synonyms None
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland Recorded at a few locations off the coasts of Scotland, Anglesey (Wales) and south-west England but may be under recorded.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Often found on the smooth undersides of small boulders in gravel or sandy brackish seabeds.
Text page icon Description Procerodes littoralis is a small free-living flatworm that reaches up to 7 mm in length. It has a flat and bilaterally symmetrical body. Flatworms are notoriously hard to identify in the field. However, Procerodes littoralis has a pale grey-brown dorsal colouring, and its body is widest at the posterior end. The head has a pointed tentacular lobe on either side. Three diverging stripes are visible in front of its small pair of eyes. Unlike similar species, Procerodes littoralis moves like a leech when disturbed, rather than moving smoothly.
Identifying features
  • Up to 7 mm in length, 1 mm in width.
  • Transverse bands on body are absent.
  • Pointed tentacular lobe on either side of the head.
  • Two well separated eyes.
  • Three diverging stripes on the head.
  • Three major branches to the gut, situated amongst multiple yolk glands.
Additional information icon Additional information No text entered

This review can be cited as follows:

Morvan Barnes 2008. Procerodes littoralis. A flatworm. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 31/07/2010]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=4207>