Polypheretima cokelat Fahri & Amaliah, 2017

Fahri, Amaliah, Rizki, Annawaty & Nguyen, Anh D., 2017, The earthworm genus Polypheretima Michaelsen, 1934 (Annelida: Clitellata: Megascolecidae) from Sulawesi, Indonesia, with descriptions of four new species, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 65, pp. 559-573 : 560-562

Polypheretima cokelat Fahri & Amaliah , new species

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Material examined. Holotype. Clitellate ( MZB Oli. 0054), cacao plantation, (01°12′30.6″S, 120°10′02.0″E), elevation of 870 m asl, Tongoa village , Lore Lindu National Park, Sigi district, Central Sulawesi province, Indonesia, 26–27 October 2016, leg. Fahri, Rizki Amaliah, M. Syarif Indra Gunawan, Evans Madiono, Nurliana H Laewa, Ardiansyah, Adhi Pranata, Sahlan.

Paratypes. 4 clitellates ( MZB Oli. 0055) and 3 clitellates ( UNTAD Oli. 0001), same data as for holotype .

Diagnosis. Medium size, length 54–185 mm, diameter 4.5–6.0 mm, segments 169–214. Prostomiumprolobous. First dorsal pore in 12/13. Setae 43–61 in v, 52–63 in vii, 49–66 in viii, 46–62 in xxv, and 8–10 between male porophores in xviii. Spermathecal pores large, lateroventrally paired in 5/6/7. Spermathecae about 2–5 per battery. Male porophores highly elevated, large; male pores located inside copulatory pouches with crescentic openings in xviii. Genital markings large, on setal rings, paired (rarely unpaired) in xix–xxii, rarely xxiii. Holandric.

Etymology. Named after the local name “cokelat” for cacao trees.

Description. External characters. Body generally cylindrical, medium size, length 54–185 mm, diameter 4.5–6.0 mm at x and 5.0– 5.5 mm at xx, segments 169–214. For living specimens, body pinkish brown on dorsum and ventrum, clitellum brown; for preserved specimens, colouration paler.

Prostomium prolobous. First dorsal pore in 12/13. Setae 43–61 in v, 52–63 in vii ( Table 1), 49–66 in viii, 46–62 in xxv, and 8–10 between male porophores in xviii; setal distance aa=ab, zz=1–2.5zy. Clitellum annular, xiv–xvi, smooth, without setae and dorsal pores. Female pore single, mid-ventral in xiv.

Spermathecal pores large, lateroventrally paired in 5/6/7. Ventral distance between spermathecal pores about 0.4× body circumference. No genital markings in the spermathecal region.

Male porophores highly elevated, large; male pores located inside copulatory pouches in xviii. Ventral distance between male porophores about 0.4× body circumference. Genital markings large, on setal rings, paired (rarely unpaired) in xix–xxii, sometimes xxiii. Genital markings variable in specimens ( Table 1).

Internal characters. Septa 3/4/5/6/7/8 thickened, 8/9/10 absent,10/11/12/13 thin. Gizzard large, round after viii. Last hearts in xiii. Intestinal origin at xv; caeca absent. Pharyngeal micronephridia well-developed on septum 6/7. Typhlosole simple, lamelliform. Lymph glands absent.

Spermathecae small, about 11–19 altogether: 5–9 in vi (3–4 on the left, and 2–5 on the right), 4–10 in vii (2–5 on the left, and 2–5 on the right). The number of spermathecae variable in specimens ( Table 1). Ampulla claviform; duct relatively long, about 2/4–3/4 as long as ampulla. Diverticulum simple, shorter than ampulla, with a seminal chamber at distal end, attached to the base of duct. No accessory glands.

Holandric. Testes sacs paired in x–xi, small, separated, ventral, yellowish. Seminal vesicles in xi and xii. Ovaries and ovisacs paired in xiii. Prostate glands paired in xviii, racemose with the rough upper part and the smooth bottom part; two main branches extending variably in specimens ( Table 1). Prostatic ducts U-shaped, distalend enlarged at xviii. No accessory glands.

Habitat and ecology. Specimens were collected in cacao plantations in Tongoa village, Lore Lindu National Park at 870 m asl. The species was found in sandy soils at depth of 0–30 cm. Soil surface was moist because of cacao leaf litter on the ground. The species was also found under decaying wood, and around the roots of cacao at depth of 10 cm.

Remarks. The new species can be keyed to the Polypheretima elongata species-complex ( Easton, 1976, 1979) characterised by numerous spermathecal pores in paired batteries, lateroventral in intersegmental furrows 5/6 and/or 6/7; genital markings paired in xix and subsequent segments, in line with the male porophores. This group currently consists of seven species (excluding the new species described in this paper), namely P. elongata ( Perrier, 1872) , P. everetti ( Beddard & Fedarb, 1895) , P. kinabaluensis ( Beddard & Fedarb, 1895) , P. phacellotheca ( Michaelsen, 1899) , P. stelleri ( Michaelsen, 1891) , P. mindanaoensis Aspe & James, 2015 , and P. bukidnonensis Aspe & James, 2016 .

Polypheretima cokelat , new species, is particularly similar to P. elongata and P. everetti in having spermathecal pores in 5/6/7 and genital markings paired in xix and subsequent segments. However, it differs from those species in its smaller size (185 mm vs. 355 and 300 mm, respectively) ( Easton, 1979). Polypheretima elongata has no more than three spermathecae per battery and 80–130 setae in vii ( Easton, 1979); P. everetti and P. kinabaluensis have 6–12 spermathecae per battery and setal number in vii up to 130 for the former and less than 40 for the latter ( Easton, 1979); P. phacellotheca has 9–12 spermathecae per battery and setae in vii 59–76 ( Easton, 1976, 1979); P. stelleri has spermathecae up to 28 per battery and setal number in vii up to 130 ( Easton, 1979); P. mindanaoensis has 0–5 spermathecae per battery and 41–53 setae in vii ( Aspe & James, 2015); P. bukidnonensis has 7–11 spermathecae per battery and 39–45 setae in vii ( Aspe & James, 2016) ( Table 6). In contrast, P. cokelat , new species has 2–5 spermathecae per battery and 52–63 setae in vii ( Table 1).

Figures

Fig. 2. Polypheretima cokelat sp. nov., Holotype. A, Spermathecal pores; B, Spermathecae (amp=ampulla, dv=diverticulum); C, Male pore region, ventral view (mp=opening of copulatory pouch, gm=genital markings); D, Male pore region, lateral view; E, Prostate gland. Scale bar = 1 mm.