Please do not pick them up with your bare hands. ** The flatworm itself is not a parasite, but it has the potential to carry them. If they are infected with the parasite, they can increase an animals or humans ability to encounter the Angiostrongylus parasite. Since the flatworms feed on snails that are often intermediate hosts of the Rat Lungworm, the flatworms are able to help spread the nematode parasite around. Platydemus manokwari is known to be a paratenic host of the Rat Lungworm, Angiostrongylus cantonensis (please refer to our Species Page). This small flatworm also poses a threat to vertebrate animals like humans and other mammals by carrying parasites. They have been documented to climb up trees following the snail trails of their prey. They have been imported in other nations to control the Giant African snail! A snail that can grow up to 7 inches in length! In several Pacific Islands, researchers have noticed a significant decrease, even extinction events, of many land snails. Despite seeming like harmless, slimy creatures, snails are an important link in the food chain and ecosystem. It uses a white pharynx like a feeding tube and is able to drain snails completely. The underside of this animal is a pale tan and the upper-side has a faint stripe down it.
Both ends of the animal look similar, but the end with the head is narrower and has two eyespots.
Platydemus manokwari ranges from 1.6-2.6 inches. As its name suggests, it is a flat, worm-looking invertebrate. The New Guinea flatworm is a dark-brown predatory worm that was first discovered on the island New Guinea.
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