Many-eyed Flatworm (Marionfyfea adventor)

This is a find to be rightly a little excited (and perhaps a little concerned) by.

Marionfyfea adventor, a small terrestial flatworm, is a new species first discovered and described in the UK (and a small handful of European countries) as recently as 2016. There are still only 16 records on NBN Atlas.

M. adventor belongs to a genus of which there is only one other known species, 'Marionfyfea carnleyi', found in the sub-antarctic islands of New Zealand. A species itself only first described in 1953. It's thought M. adventor may have originally been accidentally introduced to Europe some time ago, but lay undiscovered?

I found this individual while I was photographing a Notiophilus sp. beetle at the base of a dead tree stump in a nearby woodland clearing from which Ash-dieback infected trees had been removed last year.

Marionfyfea advetor measures about 1 to 2 cm in length when extended. The dorsum is cream-coloured and has two broad dark brown lateral stripes, while the venter is uniformly cream. They have multiple eyes are arranged in a single row around the body margin, being more concentrated at the anterior end.

Unfortunately, of around 21 species of terrestrial flatworms in the UK, just FOUR are native with most invasive species like this one, originating from Australia and New Zealand.

Since the majority feed on the earthworms so critical both to the ecosystem and to the food chain they pose a potentially serious threat.