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The present paper describes two new Chinese species of maricolan planarians through an integrated approach, including morphological, histological and molecular phylogenetic analyses. One new species forms the third species of the genus Pacifides and represents the first record of this genus from the Western Pacific. Further we document a third, new species of the genus Paucumara that is fully restricted to freshwater habitats, as it occurs on the shores of the Jialing River in Chongqing municipality far into the interior of China. Molecular phylogenetic analyses enabled us to determine, for the first time, the position of the genus Pacifides in the phylogenetic tree of the marine triclads. We also provide information on the feeding and reproduction of the new species of Pacifides. The paper concludes with two speculative scenarios on the evolutionary history that may have led to the present-day far inland occurrence and freshwater ecology of the new species of Paucumara; one scenario involves tectonic uplift-driven speciation and niche evolution, while the other invokes passive upstream dispersal via the Yangtze River. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we describe a new species for the genus Oregoniplana from the coast of China, representing the third species for the genus and the first record of this genus for Asia. The other species are known from Oregon, USA, and from South Africa. Specimens of the South African species, Oregoniplana pantherina , were recently rediscovered, forming the second record for the species, which provided the basis for a necessary re-description. Molecular data (18S rDNA and 28S rDNA) obtained for the new Chinese species facilitated determination of the position of the genus Oregoniplana in the phylogenetic tree of the marine triclads. We report molecular data also for species previously discovered in China, viz. Miroplana shenzhensis and Pentacoelum sinensis , thus enabling us to determine for the first time the phylogenetic position of the genus Miroplana. These new molecular data revealed that Pentacoleum sinensis occupies an unexpected position in the phylogenetic tree. Laboratory cultures of the new Chinese species provided information on food preferences and reproduction. Oregoniplana pantherina exhibits a peculiar kind of locomotion and an unusual resting position in which the animal has three points of contact on either side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]