New Earthworm Species Research Articles

A new genus and species of earthworm (Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) from semi-arid Australia

A new genus and species of terrestrial oligochaete, Aridulodrilus molesworthae (Megascolecidae) is described from a new species found in a semi-arid habitat in New South Wales, Australia. The location of this species provides additional evidence that localized landscape and pedologic factors have allowed isolated populations of native earthworms to persist in areas where low rainfall averages were previously thought to preclude their occurrence. The genus has a combination of morphological features that distinguish it from all other Australian genera. While it shares some features with genera in Western Australia, the wide geographic gap (some 2300 km) appears to preclude any close phylogenetic affinity with these taxa.

The earthworm fauna of Palawan, Philippines with description of nineteen new pheretimoid species (Clitellata: Megascolecidae)

ABSTRACT We described 19 new species of pheretimoid earthworms in Palawan, Philippines. Of these, eight are Pheretima belonging to the Ph. darnleiensis group, characterised by having either four or five pairs of spermathecal pores located in 5/6–8/9. These were Pheretima ingentis sp. nov., Ph. palawanensis sp. nov., Ph. atongensis sp. nov., Ph. ascensa sp. nov., Ph. marinanaensis sp. nov., Ph. brookespointensis sp. nov., Ph. multicamera sp. nov., and Ph. hamadryades sp. nov. Seven are Polypheretima, of which Polypheretima victoriaensis sp. nov., Po. irawanensis sp. nov., Po. jenniferae sp. nov., Po. puertoprincesaensis sp. nov., Po. fleischmani sp. nov., and Po. mantalingahanensis sp. nov. belong to the Po. elongata group, characterised by having a pair of genital markings in xix, successive segments in line with the male pores, paired batteries of up to 28 spermathecae in vi and/or vii, and shallow copulatory bursae, while Po. zonadimidia sp. nov. is unique among all Polypheretima species in having a saddle-shaped clitellum and in having a pair of genital markings on xiv, xv, xvii and xix in line with the male pores. Two species are Amynthas, namely Am. magnaprostata sp. nov. of the Am. sieboldi group, characterised by having three pairs of spermathecal pores in 6/7–8/9 and a holandric male system, and Am. elnidoensis sp. nov. of the Am. minimus group, characterised by having a pair of spermathecal pores in 5/6. Also, two are Metaphire, namely Me. santalourdesensis sp. nov. of the Me. merabahensis group, characterised by having three pairs of spermathecal pores at 5/6–7/8, and Me. narraensis sp. nov. of the Me. peguana group, characterised by having three pairs of spermathecal pores in 6/7–8/9 and post-clitellar genital markings at 17/18 and 18/19. With thorough biological surveys in Palawan, we expect that more species will be discovered in this biogeographic faunal region. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:04B185DB-7D43-42B1-9497-C28B3228BDF0 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:23954AD0-3C7A-46D3-AD5A-BF8F50681338 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:A1B3ED85-A649-4692-A2E4-5A53D76236E1 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:1EFB06B6-3D92-40E8-B337-C09DAA342B57 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:CE333FA2-B3D8-4B65-B915-5328AF53D715 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:31851231-C527-4E50-AFD4-BF9AA22EAD12 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:105E5C1D-8BF6-444E-B4B0-EC511A155A49 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:3CA8628E-0458-49EE-8BE2-49A6143D39DC urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:75AB66AC-7B43-4A7C-B0CE-089CEE28A8C3 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:26B59F17-9318-4853-958D-B758E699830F urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:1E205842-3930-42A0-BB81-223358E21206 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:49EFE723-2123-4D7D-8430-6A4A61CFE13D urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:29EB0027-BEDA-48CA-B7B8-AAFE19C0FD84 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:0DB1D5C3-C1D4-4581-8713-0C5E0C4346B2 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:CC6BC860-9CDA-46C7-9001-D5DC92E008E4 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:0F85D176-0F8B-4605-B08C-0371743D486C urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:0B376B0E-7CA5-4BC2-BD3B-062BA8F2AAF4 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:5FBA6522-DA25-4606-99C9-315555E55BCF urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:68FAA1DF-10AF-4BEA-8653-F2E88F2A026A

A new species of Pontoscolex earthworm (Rhinodrilidae, Clitellata) from the Gurupi Biological Reserve, along with records of earthworm species from the Amazon region of Maranhão, Brazil.

We describe a new species of the genus Pontoscolex from the Amazon region of Maranhão State in Brazil. The region is the most deforested and degraded in the biome, with only 25% of the original forest cover left. Pontoscolex awa sp. nov. has regular setae, very small spermathecae, and tubercula pubertatis band-shaped extending to AB line in XIX-XII. Common and genital setae are of similar length and without ornamentations; these features are new in the genus, although unknown in several species. The Gurupi Biological Reserve where the new species was found is the only integral protection area within the Belém Endemism Area and therefore of crucial importance for conservation of earthworms and other endemic organisms.

Three new species of earthworms (Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) from Yunnan Province, China.

Earthworm specimens collected from Yunnan Province, China were found to represent three new species of Megascolecidae: Amynthas demptus sp. nov., Amynthas lacustris sp. nov. and Metaphire reclusa sp. nov. A. demptus belongs to Amynthas hawayanus-group and has three pairs of spermathecal pores in 5/6-7/8. A. lacustris belongs to Amynthas morrisi-group and has two pairs of spermathecal pores in 5/6-6/7. M. reclusa has no spermathecal pores. A. demptus has no male pores. The male pores of A. lacustris are about 1/3 body circumference ventrally apart, with a presetal and a postsetal papilla medial to each pore, surrounded with two circular folds. The male pores of M. reclusa are in copulatory chambers at XVIII, with openings of copulatory chambers about 1/3 body circumference ventrally apart. In this paper, the morphological characters of the three new species are described. We also sequenced COI and 12S gene fragments of the holotypes and selected paratype specimens to provide molecular data.

Three new species of earthworms belonging to the genera Amynthas and Metaphire (Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) from Yunnan, China

ABSTRACTHerein, three new species are described, all from Yunnan Province, China: Amynthas hiatus sp. nov., Amynthas recavus sp. nov. and Metaphire daliensis sp. nov. Amynthas hiatus sp. nov. belongs to the Amynthas aeruginosus-group, A. recavus sp. nov. belongs to the Amynthas corticis-group and M. daliensis sp. nov. belongs to Metaphire insulana-group. Amynthas hiatus sp. nov. and M. daliensis sp. nov. have two pairs of spermathecal pores in 7/8-8/9, A. recavus sp. nov. has four pairs of spermathecal pores in 5/6-8/9. The male pores of A. hiatus sp. nov. are 1/3 circumference apart ventrally and each on top of a large, raised pulvinate pad; the male pores of A. recavus sp. nov. are 2/5 circumference apart ventrally and each on top of a raised, elliptic, collapse-topped porophore; the male pores of M. daliensis sp. nov. are 2/5 circumference apart ventrally and in the oval copulatory chambers. In this paper, the anatomical and morphological characters of these three species are described. We also sequenced COI and 12S gene fragments in order to provide an analysis of K2P distances and a neighbour-joining tree.

Two new earthworm species of the genus Amynthas (Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) from central Taiwan, with comments on some recent species assignments in Amynthas and Metaphire.

This study describes two new species of earthworms belonging to the genus Amynthas (Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) from central Taiwan. They are named Amynthas luridus sp. nov. and Amynthas ruiyenensis sp. nov. Both species are octothecal with the former found at elevations of 1500-2300 m and the latter at an elevation of 2200 m from the Central Mountain Range. In addition, DNA barcodes are made available for the first time for the following species: Amynthas catenus Tsai et al., 2001, Amynthas exiguus aquilonius Tsai et al., 2001, Amynthas proasacceus Tsai et al., 2001, Amynthas hohuanmontis Tsai et al., 2002, Amynthas tessellatus Shen et al., 2002, Amynthas fenestrus Shen et al., 2003, Amynthas tantulus Shen et al., 2003, and Amynthas uvaglandularis Shen et al., 2003. Furthermore, Amynthas exiguus ssp. aquilonius Tsai et al., 2001 distributed at elevations of 2200-3000 m in the Central Mountain Range is elevated to species level, as A. aquilonius Tsai et al., 2001. The highest altitude record so far for the exotic Eukerria saltensis (Beddard, 1895) in Taiwan, 2200 m above sea level, is documented. Moreover, some recent assignments of species to Amynthas and Metaphire and synonymies of names are critically discussed. It is argued that idiosyncratic genus concepts, inadequate species comparisons, and unexplained synonymies should be avoided. A hitherto undetected and possibly monophyletic species group of mainly KoreanAmynthasspecies in theA. tokioensis-group is indicated, characterized by numerous genital papillae around each spermathecal pore and male porophore, large ampullae, long diverticula, large prostate glands, and manicate intestinal caeca.The namesA. bimaculata,A. silvaticaandA. surcata(Ishizuka, 1999), as well asA.odaesanensis,A.righii, A.fasciiformis,andA. sanchongensisHong James, 2001, previously declared as junior synonyms ofA. tappensis(Ohfuchi, 1935), are revalidated.

Morphological and molecular evidence reveal a new species of the earthworm genus Pontodrilus Perrier, 1874 (Clitellata, Megascolecidae) from Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia

A new species of the megascolecid earthworm genus Pontodrilus Perrier, 1874, Pontodrilus longissimus sp. n., is described from seashores of Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia. The new species differs from congeners, especially the cosmopolitan P. litoralis (Grube, 1855) in the size of the body, number of segments and the shape of the spermathecae. P. litoralis is redescribed, based on specimens collected from the same region and the same type of habitat. DNA fragments of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I of both species were sequenced. Morphological as well as DNA sequence-based comparisons confirm that P. longissimus sp. n. is a lineage distinct from P. litoralis and in fact a new species. The illustrated descriptions are accompanied by a key to species of Pontodrilus.

Two new species of earthworms belonging to the genus Amynthas (Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) from Guangxi Province, China.

Two new species of earthworms belonging to the genus Amynthas are described from Guangxi Province, China: Amynthas crassitubus sp. nov. and Amynthas stabilis sp. nov. from Shiwan Mountain Nature Reserve. The two species have three pairs of spermathecal pores in 6/7-8/9, and belong to the sieboldi-group. COI barcode sequences support their status as new species.

New earthworm species of the genus Amynthas from Hainan Island, China (Megascolecidae, Clitellata).

Three new species of earthworms belonging to the genus Amynthas are described from Hainan Island, China. They are named Amynthas wenchangensis sp. nov., Amynthas accessorius sp. nov., and Amynthas eumorphus sp. nov. A. wenchangensis sp. nov. keys to the Amynthas morrisi-group; it has several small genital papillae in the male pore region and a degenerated prostate. A. accessorius sp. nov. keys to the Amynthas hawayanus-group and has completely degenerated prostates and two large accessory glands. A. eumorphus sp. nov. keys to the Amynthas sieboldi-group.

Two new earthworm species of the genus Drawida (Oligochaeta: Moniligastridae) from southwestern Taiwan.

This study describes two new species of earthworms belonging to the genus Drawida (Oligochaeta: Moniligastridae) from southwestern Taiwan. They are Drawida alishanensis sp. nov. and Drawida fenqihuensis sp. nov. The two species were found at elevations of 1407-1661 m in the Alishan area, Chiayi County. DNA barcodes from type specimens of the new species are reported. This is the first time that new species of Drawida are discovered from the island of Taiwan. In addition, Drawida keikiensis Kobayashi, 1938 from Korea is found to be synonymous with Drawida syringa Chen, 1933 from central China. The synonymy of Drawida glabella Chen, 1938 with Drawida barwelli (Beddard, 1886) is rejected.

Three new species of earthworms in the Amynthas (Clitellata: Megascolecidae) from Nam Xam National Protected Area, Laos

Earthworm specimens collected from the Nam Xam National Protected Area, Laos, belong to three new species of megascolecid earthworms: Amynthas xamtaiensis sp. nov., Amynthas vanhyai sp. nov., and Amynthas multipapillatus sp. nov. The authors provide a new record for Amynthas gracilis (Kinberg, 1867). All three new species key to the gracilis (hawayanus) group in Sims and Easton (1972), defined by having three pairs of spermathecal pores in 5/6–7/8. A. xamtaiensis sp. nov. has male pores superficial in thickened areas, containing two genital papillae medial to the male pores. A. vanhyai sp. nov. has male pores equatorial oval pads at sixth setal lines, and shallowly pinnate intestinal ceca having 6–10 lobes on each edge. A. multipapillatus sp. nov. has male pores on small longitudinal shallow invaginations at lateral margins of the ventrum, and more than 100 small genital papillae covering the ventral surface from 16/17 to 17/18.

New species of semi-aquatic freshwater earthworm genus Glyphidrilus Horst, 1889 from Thailand and Laos (Oligochaeta, Almidae).

Seven new species of semi-aquatic freshwater earthworms belonging to the genus Glyphidrilus Horst, 1889 are described from Thailand and Laos, Glyphidrilus nanensis Chanabun & Panha sp. n., G. satunensis Chanabun & Panha sp. n., G. chiangraiensis Chanabun & Panha sp. n., G. namphao Chanabun & Panha sp. n., G. sekongensis Chanabun & Panha sp. n., G. namdonensis Chanabun & Panha sp. n., and G. champasakensis Chanabun & Panha sp. n. The species are characterized by their external and internal morphological characteristics, as well as body sizes. Other morphological character differences between these seven species were also compared, and an identification key is provided. The relationships of the new species to congeners are discussed.

Four new earthworm species of the genus Amynthas (Megascolecidae: Oligochaeta) from southwestern Taiwan with re-description of Amynthas tungpuensis Tsai, Shen and Tsai, 1999

ABSTRACTThis study describes four new species of earthworms belonging to the genus Amynthas (Megascolecidae: Oligochaeta) from southwestern Taiwan. They are Amynthas quadriorbis sp. nov., Amynthas douliouensis sp. nov., Amynthas tsou sp. nov. and Amynthas dinghuensis sp. nov. The former three species are sexthecate with three pairs of spermathecal pores in 6/7–8/9 whereas A. dinghuensis is a small, octothecate earthworm with four pairs of spermathecal pores in 5/6–8/9. Amynthas quadriorbis and A. douliouensis were found in the foothills at elevations < 250 m near Douliou, Yunlin, whereas A. tsou and A. dinghuensis were from elevations of 1400–1664 m in the Alishan area, Chiayi. Amynthas quadriorbis has four large genital papillae in the male pore region. Amynthas douliouensis has paired genital papillae in presetal VIII–X and simple male pore structure. Amynthas tsou has paired genital papillae in presetal VIII–IX and male porophore with or without an anterior, posteromedial, or one anteromedial and one posteromedial papillae. Amynthas dinghuensis has two pairs of genital papillae medial to male porophores in postsetal XVII and presetal XIX. In addition, re-description of Amynthas tungpuensis, an endemic earthworm widely distributed in western Taiwan, is given. DNA barcodes (a 658-base-pair section of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene) of the four new species and of A. tungpuensis are also reported.

New earthworms of the Amynthas morrisi-group (Oligochaeta, Megascolecidae) from Hainan Island, China.

This paper describes two new species of earthworms belonging to the Amynthas morrisi-group from Hainan Island, China: Amynthas zonarius sp. nov. and Amynthas wuzhimontis sp. nov. Both have two pairs of spermathecal pores in 5/6-6/7, and simple intestinal caeca. Amynthas zonarius sp. nov. has a pad-like male porophore, with flat-topped tubercle surrounded by 5 skin folds distal half of the spermathecal diverticulum dilated into band-shaped seminal chamber. Amynthas wuzhimontis sp. nov. has a seminal chamber constricted into moniliform subchambers and a glandular pad-like elliptical male pore porophore surrounded by the tumid area. Partial COI sequences of the holotypes of the two new species have been submitted to GenBank as DNA barcodes to enable molecular species identification.

Four new earthworm species of the genus Amynthas Kinberg (Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) from the island of Hainan and Guangdong Province, China

This paper describes four new species of morrisi-group earthworms from Hainan and Guangdong Provinces, China: Amynthas instabilis sp. nov, Amynthas dilatatus sp. nov, Amynthas infuscuatus sp. nov. and Amynthas qiongzhongensis sp. nov. All four species have two pairs of spermathecal pores in 5/6–6/7; male pores in XVIII, 0.33 circumference ventrally apart, each on the top of a slightly raised porophore, surrounded by several tiny genital papillae, in a pulvinate pad with three to six circular folds. Characters of the spermathecae, prostate glands and other anatomical features easily distinguish the new species from earthworms previously reported from the morrisi-group.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:545E9152-C826-44A2-949E-402434D8493D.

Five new earthworm species of the genera Amynthas and Metaphire (Megascolecidae: Oligochaeta) from Matsu, Taiwan

This paper describes five new species of earthworms belonging to the genera Amynthas and Metaphire (Megascolecidae: Oligochaeta) from Matsu, Taiwan. They are Amynthas bimontis sp. nov., Amynthas hsiyinensis sp. nov., Amynthas dongyinensis sp. nov., Amynthas dongjuensis sp. nov. and Metaphire matsuensis sp. nov. Amynthas bimontis is a small, quadrithecate earthworm with two pairs of spermathecal pores in 5/6/7 and two small genital papillae lateral to each male porophore. Amynthas hsiyinensis is quadrithecate with two pairs of spermathecal pores in 7/8/9, has numerous small genital papillae and is morphologically similar to Amynthas polyglandularis (Tsai, 1964) from northern Taiwan. Amynthas dongyinensis is sexthecate with three pairs of spermathecal pores in 6/7–8/9 and has simple male pore structure. Amynthas dongjuensis is octothecate with or without a genital papilla medial to each male pore. Metaphire matsuensis is sexthecate with three pairs of dorsolateral spermathecal pores in 5/6–7/8, and has each male pore surrounded by 0–10 small papillae on top of a cone-shaped everted copulatory chamber. DNA barcodes (the 5’-end sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene) of the five new species are also reported.http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2EBE3507-917B-4074-B73B-CF8DC88966B9

Process parameters analysis for the vermicomposting of shredded paper using Pheretimoid Spp.

This study was to assess the effect of new species of earthworms; Pheretimoid Spp.on vermicomposting and compare the quality of vermicompost against compost produced from the same mix ratio of shredded office paper (SOP) together with grass clippings (GC) and cow manure (CM). Two composting experiments were setup in rotary drum composters namely: 1) composting of SOP, GC and CM followed by vermicomposting (denoted as reactor VC); 2) composting of SOP, GC and CM without the addition of worms (denoted as reactor C). The composting mixes consisted of a ratio of 1:4.3:3 on a mass basis of SOP, GC and CM respectively. When a temperature of 28–30°C was reached in reactor VC, adult Pheretimoid Spp. were introduced for the vermicomposting experiment. Copper and lead were found to be 44.8 mg/kg and 21.2 mg/kg, respectively for VC whereas a concentration of 51.2 mg/kg and 27.0 mg/kg were obtained in C. Cadmium was undetectable in vermicompost whilst 0.945 mg/kg of Cd was present in the compost. Analysis of the total nutrients content suggest that the amount of nutrients present (N, P, K, Ca, Mg) in VC was relatively higher than that of C with an increase of 0.05% to 0.23%.

A new species of earthworm in Amynthas hexathecus species group (Clitellata: Megascolecidae) from the Nam Xam National Protected Area, Laos

Earthworm specimens collected from the Nam Xam National Protected Area, Laos represent a new species of Megascolecidae: Amynthas hauyhowensis sp. nov. Amynthas hauyhowensis sp. nov. is in the hexathecus species group in Sims and Easton (1972), defined by having five pairs of spermathecae in 4/5–8/9. The species has secondary male pores equatorial in XVIII at the 11th setal lines, paired invaginated genital papillae postsetal on XVII anterior to male pores, and manicate intestinal caeca. A description of the new species is provided, including illustrations of the ventral view, intestinal caeca, prostate gland and representative spermathecae.http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E5B6BC83-AB8E-4A49-BF90-C6752E55E8DE

New Amynthas species (Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) from south and central Hainan Island, China and estimates of evolutionary divergence among some corticis-group species

This paper describes four new species of earthworms from Hainan Island, China: Amynthas obsoletus sp. nov., Amynthas dorsualis sp. nov., Amynthas mirifius sp. nov. and Amynthas pulvinus sp. nov. Amynthas obsoletus is an athecate earthworm, has greyish or brownish pigment on the dorsum, and has two genital papillae beside each male pore, one medial and one anterior, three genital papillae arranged transversely in VIII, prostates in XVII–XX. Amynthas dorsualis, Amynthas mirifius and Amynthas pulvinus are all octothecate earthworms, and key to the corticis-group, but the spermathecal pores are located on the dorsum in Amynthas dorsualis. Amynthas dorsualis has dark grey and dark brown pigment on the dorsum, an annular clitellum in 1/10XIV–7/10XVI, and lacks genital markings. Amynthas mirifius and Amynthas pulvinus both have four pairs of spermathecal pores on the ventrum. Amynthas mirifius has four peanut-in-shell-shaped genital markings, which are rectangular with enlarged rounded ends, between the two male pores, while Amynthas pulvinus has a large glandular rounded rectangle-shaped genital marking on the ventral side of 17/18–18/19. DNA barcodes are provided for the last two new species collected in 2011, and have been submitted to NCBI to enable molecular species identification.http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:27AD7191-5438-4F10-B177-5FCCA893A2EB

Three new earthworm species of the genus Amynthas (Clitellata: Megascolecidae) from Mt. Chiak National Park, Korea.

Earthworm specimens collected from Mt. Chiak, National Park, Korea were found to represent three new species of megascolecid earthworms: Amynthas chiakensis sp. nov., Amynthas gyeongriae sp. nov., and Amynthas wonjuensis sp. nov. Amynthas chiakensis sp. nov. has two pairs of spermathecae in VII and VIII, small transverse oval male porophores each with C-shaped small patches of genital papillae, 0.22-0.31 circumference apart. Amynthas gyeongriae sp. nov. has spermathecae in VI-VIII, male field with large circular-shaped raised pads and seminal grooves, with pores 0.16-0.28 circumference apart. Amynthas wonjuensis sp. nov. has spermathecae in VI and VII, male pores superficial in XVIII on small oval-shaped white porophores lateral to large roughly circular raised genital papillae, 0.15 circumference apart.