Amynthas gracilis gracilis (Kinberg, 1867)

Blakemore, Robert J., Lee, Seunghan & Seo, Hong-Yul, 2015, Account of montane and insular speciation in some Korean megadriles (Annelida: Oligochaeta), Journal of Species Research 4 (1), pp. 1-22 : 4

3. Amynthas gracilis gracilis (Kinberg, 1867)

( Fig. 2 C-E).

Nitocris gracilis Kinberg, 1867: 102 . [Type locality Rio de Janeiro. Types in Stockholm Museum, immatures ( Sims & Easton, 1972: 214)]; synonymy in Blakemore (2012f).

Material. IV0000261351 (DNA HY14), mature, dissected; from Seonimgyo Bridge over Cheonjeyeon Waterfalls near Botanic Gardens, Seogwipo collected by RJB 5 th Sept. 2013 found stranded on footpath at dusk; 261352 (DNA HY15) mature, ditto location but in drainage channel for rice paddy aqueduct beside footpath over the bridge; 261353 (DNA HY16), mature dissected, from Yeomiji Botanical gardens with other matures (261355- 358) .

Distribution. Widespread cosmopolitan, origin unknown, tentatively reported from Jeju by Blakemore (2012a: 26, fig. 8A) (IV0000251208 beside Cheonji-yeon Falls providing DNA sample w63); see also A. gracilis insularum Blakemore, 2012a: 28 , fig. 8B from same Jeju locality (providing DNA samples WO55, resampled as w31 and cf. w63 that both comply with “ A. gracilis ” from Ogasawara Islands, Japan - see Appendix).

Description. Full details and distribution provided by Blakemore (2012f) “ Cosmopolitan Earthworms ”, compared to A. gracilis insularum Blakemore 2012a: 28 , fig. 8.

Remarks. Blast results for all three samples HY14-16 agree 100% with Amynthas gracilis (Genbank AB5424 89.1 - mistakenly cited previously as AB542589.1 - from Kagoshima on Kyushu and AB542491.1 from Yona, Okinawa; also JX177860 from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil), whereas HY14 vs. w31 and/or W63 (Appendix) have only 98% similarity. This taxon can reasonably be accepted as the proper confirmation of A. gracilis gracilis from Jeju and Korea and conforms to a basal A. gracilis group shown in phylogram of Blakemore (2013a: 101, fig. 1).

Figures

Fig. 2. 2A Metaphire californica (Kinberg, 1867) providing DNA HY17; 2B Amynthas cf. corticis (Kinberg, 1867) with GMs complying rather with A. diffringens (Baird, 1869) providing DNA HY19; 2C-E Amynthas gracilis (Kinberg, 1867) providing DNA tissue samples HY14-16, respectively.