Diptera.info

Posted by Lennart Bendixen on 30-10-2015 08:24

Hi,

here's another larva that is living in rotten wood. Is Diptera correct at all...? Longest measured length was 8 mm; being compressed it was much shorter. Who can help?

Thanks in advance.

Lennart

2015-10-29, Northern Germany, S-H, Mohrkirch, fallow land, wood pile

Edited by Lennart Bendixen on 30-10-2015 20:15

Posted by solito de solis on 30-10-2015 09:08

Hey
if it was a leech, it could be the silhouette of Erpobdellidae.
IF I explore the photo I could guess one blackspot on the anterior part of this organism
a pair of eyes ? Erpobdellidae have 4 pairs of eyes one of which is situated alike this blackspot. The yellow-brown color and the pattern, the shape of this organism tell me
this could be a Erpobdella leech but... I can't see the natural segmentation of a leech Erpobdella body
(seems here to be viscuous)

Posted by Lennart Bendixen on 30-10-2015 10:17

Thank you for your detailed answer!

Now that's interesting - you're right, there's no segmentation visible. And there was another black spot on the other side indeed, so to me it looked like it's got eyes, too.
I add another picture, though I don't really think it will help...

Posted by solito de solis on 30-10-2015 12:53

You're welcome

Perhaps it's not a leech
I propose you pictures about a little Erpobdella on my arm skin filmed in a dark room
You could ee the anterior sucker on the left picture
and I see that your organism is also showing a part of the anterior sucker, the neck a little bit twisted to you. Furthermore I also did the observation that when they are out of water after a while, Erpobdellae do not show segmentation... given that a viscous mucus protects their skin from dryness
and makes less visible their segmentation

But this only speculation

rodredi.free.fr/erpz.jpg

SDS

Edited by solito de solis on 30-10-2015 12:53

Posted by Tony Irwin on 30-10-2015 14:56

Not Diptera or Annelida. This is a terrestrial nemertean - Argonemertes dendyi. There are similar terrestrial planarians, but this appears to show the features of Argonemertes.

Posted by Lennart Bendixen on 30-10-2015 20:12

Great! Now that's something new for me - never heard of. Thanks a lot for clearing it up!

Sorry for adding a second specimen to this thread, but this just fits, because I found it in the same wood pile, just a few minutes later: Is this a Nemertean, too, but a different species?

Length up to 14 mm.