identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
77377654CE6854D4B364EC703037587B.text	77377654CE6854D4B364EC703037587B.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Eisenia ilensis Xu, Zhang & Zhao 2026	<div><p>Eisenia ilensis Xu, Zhang &amp; Zhao sp. nov.</p><p>Fig. 1</p><p>Material examined.</p><p>Holotype • one clitellate (CNWN 17_01, COI accession number: PX 552878), <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=82.2732&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=43.3496" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 82.2732/lat 43.3496)">Wild Walnut Nature Reserve</a> (43.3496°N, 82.2732°E, 1221.64 m elev.), Gongliu County, Ili Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, 2025-05-28, collected by Yufeng Zhang . Paratypes: • three clitellates (CNWN 17_02, COI accession number: PX 552878; CNWN 17_04, COI accession number: PX 552879; CNWN 002, COI accession number: PX 552877), same data as of the holotype .</p><p>Additional material.</p><p>10 clitellates, same data as of the holotype. All the specimens of the new species have been deposited in Langfang Normal University, Hebei, China (C-HLU).</p><p>Diagnosis.</p><p>Body primarily pale yellow with hints of brown, length 43.0–67.0 mm, diameter 5.0–8.0 mm, number of segments 113–144. Prostomium open epilobic. Setae: lumbricine, four pairs, existing in each segment. First dorsal pores occur at 4 / 5. Two pairs of spermathecal pores in 9 / 10 / 11 close to mid-D. Female pore invisible and male pores in XV lateral. Clitellum within XXIV / XXV – XXXI, tubercula pubertatis within XXVII – XXIX, small cake-shaped. Four pairs of seminal vesicles in IX – XII. Spermathecae two pairs, ivory-white present on 9 / 10 and 10 / 11, the shape is spherical near the dorsal midline, without duct. Calciferous gland in segment X – XII, with one of gizzard in XVII – XVIII.</p><p>Description.</p><p>Body stout but relatively small. Pigmentation in alcohol pale yellow with a paler ventrum; clitellum white. Length 43.0–67.0 mm. Diameter 5.0– 8.06 mm. Segments 113–144. Prostomium open epilobic. Dorsal pores from 4 / 5. Setae closely paired, four pairs per segment, appearing as small dots; setal ratio approximately aa = bc, ab = 1.5 cd. Genital markings present laterally on VIII, IX, and on the right side of XI, band-shaped. Tubercula pubertatis on XXVII, XXVIII, XXIX of the clitellum, small cake-shaped. The clitellum is saddle-shaped, spanning segments XXV – XXXI (slightly encroaching onto segment XXIV anteriorly or extending to segment XXXII posteriorly in some paratypes). Nephropores, spermathecal pores, and female pores invisible. Male pores relatively large, in segment XV lateral of setal line b; distance between male pores 3.23 mm (n = 6).</p><p>Internally, septum 12 / 13 thickened. Spermathecae two pairs, white and spherical; spermathecal duct absent, located in segments IX and X, positioned near the dorsal midline. Testes and funnels invisible. Seminal vesicles four pairs in segments IX – XII (smallest in IX and X, largest in XII). Ovaries invisible. Hearts in segments VI–IX. Calciferous glands in segments X and XII, fleshy, pink. Crop in segments XV – XVI. Muscular gizzard in segments XVII – XVIII. Excretory system holonephric, with digitate nephridia. Extra-esophageal vessels, testis sacs, epididymis, and typhlosole absent.</p><p>Distribution.</p><p>Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture (Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China).</p><p>Habitat.</p><p>Litter or soil geophage (epigeic or endogeic ecological groups) inhabiting broad-leaved mixed forests and deciduous broad-leaved forests.</p><p>Etymology.</p><p>The specific name of the species refers to its distribution area in Ili, in the northwest of Xinjiang, China.</p><p>Remarks.</p><p>Eisenia is a Palearctic genus comprising approximately 50 valid taxa (e. g., E. sibirica Perel &amp; Graphodatsky, 1984, E. lagodechiensis Michaelsen, 1910, E. nana Perel, 1985, etc.) (Hong and Csuzdi 2016). Common characteristics within the genus include dorsal pores commencing at the inter-segmental furrow 4 / 5 (although the first dorsal pore may occasionally occur at 3 / 4 or 5 / 6); the clitellum is predominantly positioned in segments XXVI – XXXII, with minor anterior or posterior extensions in some species; and male pores located in segment XV.</p><p>The new species is morphologically similar to E. nordenskioldi and E. balatonica (Table 2), which occur in the Siberian region (Eisen 1879; Pop 1943). They are similar in the number and position of clitellar segments, the position of calciferous glands, the arrangement of setae, the location of dorsal pores, and body diameter. However, E. ilensis sp. nov. is distinguished from E. nordenskioldi and E. balatonica by the following characteristics. Body coloration: the new species is pale yellow (in alcohol-preserved specimens) with a paler ventrum, and the clitellum is pure white; whereas E. nordenskioldi exhibits a dark purplish-brown coloration, and E. balatonica is dark red-brown. Spermathecal structure: the spermathecae duct of the new species absent, while both E. nordenskioldi and E. balatonica possess a distinct duct. In E. ilensis sp. nov., the tubercula pubertatis of the clitellum are located in segments XXVII – XXIX, whereas in E. nordenskioldi they are shifted posteriorly to segments XXIX – XXXI. Additionally, the genital markings in E. ilensis sp. nov. are positioned more anteriorly (segments VIII – XI), compared to those in E. nordenskioldi, which are located further posteriorly (segments XXVII – XXXI).</p><p>In addition, the new species exhibits distinct morphological differences from other subspecies within the E. nordenskioldi complex. In terms of body size, the new species is similar to E. n. shenzi but significantly larger than E. n. chinensis and smaller than E. n. polypapillata Perel, 1969 . These four taxa can be clearly distinguished by their body coloration: the new species is pale yellow; E. n. shenzi is grayish-purple to pinkish-brown; E. polypapillata is deeply pigmented, with a dark purple to dusky brown dorsum; and E. n. chinensis is pale red to pinkish-gray. Regarding body width, the new species (5.0– 8.06 mm) is among the more robust forms in the comparison (E. n. chinensis, E. n. polypapillata). In the arrangement of genital markings, the new species exhibits band-like lateral papillae distributed on the right side of segments VIII, IX, and XI. In contrast, the papillae of E. n. shenzi occur as paired small round spots along the ab line in segments XXVI – XXXI; those of E. n. polypapillata and E. n. chinensis are round spots confined to the cd line in segments IX – XII. The new species possesses small cake-shaped tubercula pubertatis and a gizzard occupying segments XVI – XVIII (spanning three segments). By comparison, the tubercula pubertatis of the other three subspecies are not described as cake-shaped, and their gizzards all begin in segment XVII, covering only two segments.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/77377654CE6854D4B364EC703037587B	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Xu, Pingping;Zhang, Yufeng;Shu, Xin;Han, Dayong;Zhao, Huifeng	Xu, Pingping, Zhang, Yufeng, Shu, Xin, Han, Dayong, Zhao, Huifeng (2026): A new earthworm species of the genus Eisenia Malm, 1877 (Oligochaeta, Lumbricidae) from the Ili River valley, northwestern China. ZooKeys 1285: 21-40, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1285.192248
