THE SPREAD OF THE NEW-ZEALAND FLATWORM (ARTIOPOSTHIA-TRIANGULATA) WITHIN GREAT-BRITAIN

Between 1965 and 1995 the New Zealand flatworm (Artioposthia triangula ta) has spread throughout much of Scotland and parts of England. Becau se it is such a distinctive organism, readily recognised by the genera l public it was possible for a retrospective analysis of the pattern o f spread to be undertaken. The results support the hypothesis that it probably spread passively in containerised plants but that while, in t heory, it could have become established in a random fashion throughout Great Britain, in practice in Scotland, it showed a progressive sprea d from around its epicentre, Edinburgh, from where it was first record ed. The implications are that it is the localised spread of A. triangu lata which is important in disseminating the flatworm and that if it b ecame established in Europe its spread could possibly be curtailed by the imposition of local control measures.