Abstract
A new quadrannulate Orobdella Oka, 1895 species, Orobdella koikei sp. n., is described on the basis of six specimens collected from Hokkaido, Japan. In addition, an emended description of quadrannulate Orobdella kawakatsuorum Richardson, 1975 is also provided. Orobdella koikei differs from other quadrannulate species of Orobdella in possessing the following combination of characters: color dorsally brown, IV uniannulate, male gonopore at XI b6, gastropore and female gonopore at XIII a1, 1/2 + 4 + 1/2 between gonopores, XXV triannulate, tubular but bulbous at junctions with gastropore and crop gastroporal duct, epididymides in XVII to XIX, and atrial cornua ovate. The phylogenetic position of the newly described species is estimated using mitochondrial COI, tRNACys, tRNAMet, 12S rDNA, tRNAVal and 16S rDNA markers. Orobdella koikei is a sister taxon of Orobdella kakawatsuorum according to the molecular phylogenetic analyses.
Highlights
The genus Orobdella Oka, 1895 consists of terrestrial gastroporous leeches in East Asia (Sawyer 1986)
Orobdella koikei differs from the four other quadrannulate species of the genus, O. esulcata, O. kawakatsuorum, O. tsushimensis, and O. whitmani, in the following combination of characteristics (Table 3): 1) dorsal surface brown ; 2) IV uniannulate; 3) male gonopore at XI b6; 4) gastropore nad female gonopore at XIII a1; 5) gonopores separated by 1/2 + 4 + 1/2 annuli; 6) XXV triannulate; 7) gastroporal duct, tubular, but bulbous at junctions with gastropore and crop; 8) epididymides in XVII to XIX; and 9) atrial cornua ovate
Orobdella koikei is distinguished from O. dolichopharynx Nakano, 2011, O. ijimai Oka, 1895, O. shimadae Nakano, 2011, and O. octonaria Oka, 1895, in having mid-body somites that are quadrannulate; they are sexannulate in O. dolichopharynx, O. ijimai, and O. shimadae, and octannulate in O. octonaria
Summary
The genus Orobdella Oka, 1895 consists of terrestrial gastroporous leeches in East Asia (Sawyer 1986). The species diversity of Orobdella has been revised recently, and this genus includes eight species (Nakano 2010, 2011a, b) Among these species, only one quadrannulate species, Orobdella kawakatsuorum Richardson, 1975, has been known from Hokkaido, Japan (Richardson 1975). Several specimens differ from O. kawakatsuorum, and the other quadrannulate species, O. esulcata Nakano, 2010, O. tsushimensis Nakano, 2011, and O. whitmani Oka, 1895, in several characterisics. They are described as a new species . The phylogenetic position of the new species is estimated using mitochondrial COI, tRNACys, tRNAMet, 12S rDNA, tRNAVal and 16S rDNA sequence data
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