22-05-2025
Regenerative hammerhead creature found creeping through kitchen in Madagascar
In Madagascar's densely populated capital city of Antananarivo, a slender creature with a wide head and the ability to regenerate copies of itself should it be cut apart, wriggled its way through someone's kitchen.
The discovery of the nearly 10-inch-long Bipalium kewense — also known as the hammerhead flatworm — marked the first record of the highly invasive species in Madagascar, according to a May 21 study published in the journal Check List.
While attempting to collect the flatworm, it broke into three separate segments — a common behavior called fragmentation exhibited by the species.
It was eventually captured and removed from the country for further analysis, researchers said.
The species, native to Indochina, can reproduce asexually and has been inadvertently transported through the global plant trade, making it a highly successful colonizer, researchers said.
Despite being found in more than 78 countries around the world, it has scarcely been recorded in North Africa, according to the study.
Researchers said two iNaturalist entries from 2024 may have featured Bipalium kewense in areas south of Antananarivo, but those observations are unconfirmed.
According to the study, Bipalium kewense has also been confirmed for the first time in Egypt and South Africa.
The research team included Romain Gastineau, Andrianjaka Ravelomanana, Remondah Rushdy Ramzy, Marcel Koken, Suzelyce Eva Soavolamanoro, Christian Otis, Brian Boyle, Delphine Gey, Leigh Winsor and Jean-Lou Justine.
