Abstract
A new quadrannulate species of Orobdella, Orobdella ketagalan sp. n., from Taipei, Taiwan, is described. This is the first record of Orobdella and the family Orobdellidae from Taiwan. This new species possesses small, paired sperm duct bulbs in the male reproductive system. In addition to these bulbs, the following combination of characters distinguishes this new species from other quadrannulate species: somite IV uniannulate, male gonopore at XI b6, female gonopore at XIII a1, 1/2 + 4 + 1/2 between gonopores, simple tubular gastroporal duct, lacking epididymides, and undeveloped atrial cornua. Phylogenetic analyses using nuclear 18S rDNA and histone H3 as well as mitochondrial COI, 12S rDNA, tRNAVal, and 16S rDNA markers showed that Orobdella ketagalan is related to the two Ryukyu Archipelago species Orobdella dolichopharynx Nakano, 2011 and Orobdella shimadae Nakano, 2011.
Highlights
Species of the genus Orobdella Oka, 1895 are large annelids that feed on earthworms
Orobdella ketagalan differs from the five other quadrannulate Orobdella species (i.e., O. esulcata Nakano, 2010, O. kawakatsuorum Richardson, 1975, O. koikei, O. tsushimensis, and O. whitmani) in the following combination of characteristics (Table 3): IV uniannulate, gonopores separated by 1/2 + 4 + 1/2 annuli, XXV quadrannulate, gastroporal duct simple and tubular, paired sperm duct bulbs in XV, epididymides absent, and atrial cornua undeveloped
The phylogenies obtained in this study are nearly identical to those obtained in other phylogenetic analyses of the genus Orobdella (Nakano 2012a, b, Nakano et al 2012)
Summary
Species of the genus Orobdella Oka, 1895 are large annelids that feed on earthworms. They are usually 10–20 cm in length (except for O. koikei Nakano, 2012, approx. 5 cm) and they inhabit the banks of mountain streams in East Asia (Nakano 2012a, Oka 1895). Orobdella was initially included in the family Gastrostomobdellidae along with the Southeast Asian terrestrial macrophagous leech genus Gastrostomobdella Moore, 1929 (Richardson 1971, Sawyer 1986). Taxonomic and inventory studies on Orobdella have progressed recently, and this genus includes ten species (Nakano 2010, 2011a, b, 2012a, b, in press, Oka 1895, Richardson 1975). Quadrannulate Orobdella specimens were collected from Taipei, Taiwan. In the present study, Orobdella leeches from Taipei are described as a new species. This is the first record of orobdellid leeches from Taiwan. Their phylogenetic position is estimated using nuclear 18S and histone H3 (H3) and mitochondrial COI, 12S, tRNAVal, and 16S rDNA (12S–16S) sequence data
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