Metaphire dorsomultitheca Nguyen & Nguyen, 2015

Nguyen, Tung T., Lam, Dang H. & Nguyen, Anh D., 2023, A revision of the Metaphire peguana species-group (Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) from Vietnam, Zootaxa 5255 (1), pp. 113-135 : 129-130

Metaphire dorsomultitheca Nguyen & Nguyen, 2015

( Figure 11 , Table 3 )

Metaphire dorsomultitheca Nguyen et al. 2015: 465 , fig. 2; Nguyen et al. 2016: 56 , 2021c: 105.

Pheretima sp. 15 – Nguyen 2013: 87, 2014: 112.

Type locality. Vietnam (An Giang: Sam mountain ) ( Nguyen et al. 2015)

Type material. Laboratory of Zoology , Department of Biology, Can Tho University (EW.025.h01, EW.025. p02), Vietnam .

Diagnosis. Body cylindrical, small-medium size, length 76–111 mm, diameter 2.9–3.6 mm, segments 88–120. Prostomium epilobous. First dorsal pore at 12/13. Spermathecal pores numerous in dorsal intersegments 7/8/9, polythecate. Male pores located inside copulatory pouches in xviii. Genital markings invisible outside, but two pairs opened on the front and back walls of the copulatory pouches, respectively. Septum 10/11 present only ventrally. Intestinal caeca simple. Holandric, testis sacs separated. Accessory glands coelomic, strongly covered by muscularwalled bursae in 17/18 and 18/19.

Habitat. The species was usually found in the depth of 0–5 cm in the soils under small trees and shrubs on mountain peaks ( Nguyen et al. 2015).

Distribution. Known only in Vietnam (An Giang: Sam, Cam, and Co To mountains) ( Nguyen et al. 2015) ( Fig. 3 ).

Remarks. There are no significant differences between individuals except the number of spermathecae. The K2P intraspecific genetic distance was 0.7%±0.3%. The genetic distance between M. dorsomultitheca and other Metaphire species was from 14.9%±1.6% (with M. bahli (I)) to 21.8%±2.0 (with M. grandiverticulata ) ( Table 4 ).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Distribution of Metaphire peguana species-group recorded all over the word (A) and in the South of Vietnam (B). 1. Metaphire bahli, 2. M. doiphamon, 3. M. dorsomultitheca, 4. Metaphire kiengiangensis, 5. Metaphire nhuongi, 6. Metaphire peguana laisonensis, 7. M. peguana peguana.

FIGURE 11. Metaphire dorsomultitheca Nguyen & Nguyen, 2015. A. Ventral view of the male pore region, B. Right spermathecae, C. Caecum, D. Left prostatic gland, E. Transverse body section of the male copulatory pouch, F. Vertical body section of male porophore and accessory gland. Scale bar=1 mm.