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@article{191011,
        author = {Rangrao pandurang kavane},
        title = {“Occurrence of Land Planarians in the Kolhapur Region of Maharashtra”},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {8},
        pages = {4674-4678},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=191011},
        abstract = {Land planarians (Order Tricladida) are terrestrial flatworms that occupy moist microhabitats and act as key predators in soil ecosystems. Despite their ecological relevance and exceptional regenerative ability, their distribution in India particularly across the Western Ghats remains poorly documented. This study evaluates the potential occurrence of land planarians in the Kolhapur region of Maharashtra by synthesizing literature, regional environmental data, and preliminary observations from forested and riparian habitats. Although no published records currently exist for Kolhapur, the presence of shaded leaf litter zones, lateritic plateaus, and protected forest patches indicates a high likelihood of under recorded populations. Future surveys should employ targeted nocturnal searches, moist chamber extraction, and molecular barcoding to confirm species identities and detect cryptic diversity. Establishing baseline records from Kolhapur will improve understanding of soil biodiversity, clarify predator prey dynamics, and help assess potential invasive risks, thereby contributing to regional faunal inventories and conservation planning within the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot.},
        keywords = {Land planarians, Terrestrial flatworms, Geoplanidae, Western Ghats, Kolhapur district, Soil biodiversity, Moist microhabitats, Predator–prey interactions, Regeneration, Species occurrence, Maharashtra.},
        month = {January},
        }