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The New Zealand flatworm (Arthurdendyus triangulatus sensu Jones & Gerard, 1999), was first recorded in the UK in Belfast (1963) and shortly afterwards in Edinburgh (1965), but is now widely distributed throughout much of Scotland, Northern Ireland and, to a lesser extent northern England (Cannon et al., 1999). In Scotland, A. triangulatus occurs predominantly in botanical and domestic gardens, and currently is not generally considered to be a problem on agricultural land. In Northern Ireland it is found in domestic gardens but also appears to have colonized grass leys in many localities.

However, its impact on earthworm populations remains ambiguous, with evidence of numbers in areas with large NZF populations being reduced temporarily before recovering to levels recorded prior to invasion. Other studies have suggested a differential susceptibility of earthworm species to A. triangulatus predation, with recovering populations exhibiting an altered species profile. Results of a large-scale survey of earthworms and A. triangulatus populations in grass fields in Northern Ireland has shown a marked increase in occurrence of NZF's, particularly in field margins (Murchie et al., 1999; Cannon et al., 1999).

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