About Bipalium nobile Kawakatsu & Makino, 1982
Bipalium nobile is a species of land planarian that grows to a very long maximum length of 1 meter (3.3 feet). Like all other species in the genus Bipalium, this species has an expanded head that takes on a fan-shaped form when the animal is alive. Its dorsal body surface is pale yellowish brown, marked with five longitudinal blackish brown stripes. The head region is typically darker in color than the rest of the body. Very little is currently known about the ecology of Bipalium nobile. The species was first recorded in Tokyo, Japan, towards the end of the 1970s. Because it was not documented in any earlier surveys of the Tokyo area, researchers assume B. nobile was introduced to the region from a different location. Regeneration studies have confirmed that B. nobile has an extremely high regenerative ability, comparable to that of freshwater planarians.
