Metaphire wuzhimontis Qiu & Sun

Zhao, Qi, Jiang, Jibao, Sun, Jing & Qiu, Jiangping, 2013, Four new earthworm species and subspecies belonging to genus Amynthas and Metaphire (Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) from Hainan Island, China, Zootaxa 3619 (3), pp. 383-393 : 387-388

Metaphire wuzhimontis Qiu & Sun , sp. nov.

( Fig. 3 , Table 2 )

Material. Holotype one clitellate (F-HN 201110 -01), China, Hainan Province, Mt. Wuzhi (18°54ʹ15ʺ N, 109°41ʹ0 2ʺE), 858m a.s.l., soil, coll. J.P. Qiu, Q. Zhao, J.B. Jiang, D. Cluzeau, W.K. Zhang, 25 May 2011.

Locality and habitat. The single specimen was collected from the core area of the Wuzhishan National Nature Reserve, tropical rain forest, Hainan province, China.

Etymology. This species is named after its location.

Diagnosis. Dimensions 163 mm by 5.5 mm at clitellum, segments 94. Setae 20/III, 24/V, 40/VIII, 56/XX, 40/ XXV; 13 between male pores; 13–16 between spermathecal pores. Spermathecal pores in 7/8–8/9, less than 0.5 circumferences ventrally apart. Male pores on XVIII, less than 0.5 body circumferences apart, ventrally placed in a copulatory pouch, surrounded by five to six circular folds.

Description. Preserved specimen dark brown on dorsum, gradually lighter after clitellum, pale ventrally. Dimensions 163 mm by 5.5 mm, segments 94; body cylindrical in cross-section, gradually tapered towards head and tail. Prostomium epilobous. Setae numbering 20/III, 24/V, 40/VIII, 56/XX, 40/XXV; 13 between male pores; 13–16 between spermathecal pores, setal formula AA=1–2AB, ZZ=2ZY. Clitellum annular XIV–XVI, fingershaped, markedly glandular, dark brown; setae cannot be seen externally in clitellum. First dorsal pore 9/10. Two pairs of spermathecal pores in 7/8–8/9, ventral, eye-like and conspicuous, less than 0.5 body circumferences apart. Each pore with a small round marking placed between the pore and the setae circle of VII and VIII, another marking with the same size placed ventro-medially on VIII. Male pores paired in XVIII, less than 0.5 body circumferences ventrally apart, each in a copulatory pouch, surrounded by five to six circular folds. Genital papillae not present. Female pore single in XIV.

Septa 5/6–7/8 comparatively thick, 10/11–11/12 slightly thickened, 8/9–9/10 absent. Dorsal blood vessel single, continuous onto pharynx; esophageal hearts in X–XIII, the first pair is small. Gizzard in IX–X, ball-shaped; intestine enlarged distinctly from XV; intestinal caeca simple, originating in XXVI and extending forward to XXIV, three distinct incisions on dorsal margins, smooth ventrally. Spermathecae paired in VIII–IX, large; ampulla peach-shaped, spermathecal duct short, as long as 0.14 main pouch; diverticulum equal to main pouch, straight, terminal 0.5 enlarged, ectal 0.33 served as an elongated seminal chamber; accessory glands present. Male sexual system holandric, testis sacs two pairs in X–XI; seminal vesicles paired in XI–XII; prostates in XV–XIX, welldeveloped, closely adhering to body wall, prostatic duct stout, U-shaped. Accessory glands lacking.

Remarks. Metaphire wuzhimontis sp. nov. keys to the javanica -group according to Sims and Easton (1972). There are only 5 species in the javanica -group in China and Southeast Asia. They are Metaphire californica (Kinberg, 1867) , Metaphire javanica (Kinberg, 1867) , Metaphire longipenis (Chen, 1946) , Metaphire magna (Chen, 1938) (including Metaphire magna minuscula subsp. nov., see below), and Metaphire prava (Chen, 1946) (Sims & Eastern 1972; Chen 1946; Chang et al. 2009). Genetic distances of these species are compared in Table 2 . Metaphire wuzhimontis is a moderately large species, obviously 2 to 4 times smaller than Metaphire magna (Chen, 1938) , but nearly 3 times larger than Metaphire longipenis and Metaphire prava . Its first dorsal pore is in 9/10, different from the others. Only Metaphire wuzhimontis and Metaphire magna magna have genital markings. However, 3–6 markings in Metaphire magna are encircling the spermathecal pores, while in Metaphire wuzhimontis one pair of markings is placed between the pore and the setae circle of VII and VIII, and another one ventro-medially in IX. NJ tree and K2P distances among Metaphire species in China mainland, Taiwan Island and Hainan Island are shown in Figure 5 and in Table 2 . The distances of COI sequences between Metaphire wuzhimontis and the other 10 Metaphire species are all> 20%. Furthermore, the distances of combined COI and 16S sequences also showed> 13% differences among these species. The sequences of fragments of the COI and 16S genes of the holotype of Metaphire wuzhimontis (C-HN 201110 -01) have been deposited in GenBank ( Table 1 ).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Metaphire wuzhimontis sp. nov. A. Ventral body surface with spermathecal pores. B. Spermatheca. C. Ven t ral body surface with male pores. D. Intestinal caeca.