Amynthas rodericensis ( Grube, 1879 )

Nxele, Thembeka C., 2012, The megadrile fauna (Annelida: Oligochaeta) of Queen Elizabeth Park, South Africa: species composition and distribution within different vegetation types, African Invertebrates 53 (2), pp. 543-543 : 553-554

Amynthas rodericensis ( Grube, 1879)

Perichaeta rodericensis: Grube 1879: 554 .

Pheretima rodericensis: Ljungström 1972 a: 55 .

Amynthas rodericensis: Gates 1972: 218 ; Zicsi & Reinecke 1992: 156; Reynolds 1993: 6; Zicsi 1998: 74; Dlamini 2002: 62; Blakemore 2004 b: 127, table 1; Horn et al. 2007: 175; Plisko 2010: 303.

Type locality: Republic of Mauritius, Rodrigues .

Description:

External: Body length 70–110 mm, width 3–4 mm. Number of segments 80–100. Prostomium epilobous. Setae numerous; absent on clitellar segments. First dorsal pore on 9/10. Clitellum circular, on 14–16. Female pore minute on 14. Male pores paired on 18, on swollen porophore. Spermathecal pores paired, in four intersegmental furrows (5/6, 6/7, 7/8 and 8/9), open dorsally. Genital markings constant on 17–18, disc shaped, paired.

Internal: Septa thin, missing at 8/9 and 9/10. Shape of gizzard roundish, in 8–10. Intestinal origin in 15. Caeca simple, originate in 27, extending forward to 24. Holandric. Spermathecae big and roundish with long, rosary-shaped diverticulum. Seminal vesicles in 11–12, variable in size. Prostates racemose, in 17–21, 22.

Material examined: 388 cl.: Woodland, on the side of the road near fence (29°34.810'S 30°19.271'E), 23.ii.2012, 9 cl., NMSA /Olig.06095; 24 cl., NMSA /Olig.06145; Woodland, near nursery (29°33.867'S 30°19.106'E), 3087 ft, 23.ii.2012, 22 cl., NMSA /Olig.06146; 40 cl., NMSA /Olig.06097; Woodland, small grass with bush near road (29°34.345'S 30°19.377'E), 7.i.2012, 11 cl., NMSA /Olig.06101; Lawn, at the picnic site (29°34.091'S 30°19.276'E), 3040 ft, 24.ii.2012, 2 cl., NMSA /Olig.06147; 5 cl., NMSA /Olig.06148; 21 cl .,

NMSA /Olig.06109; Indigenous Bush (29°34.357'S 30°19.399'E), 22.ii.2012, 37 cl ., NMSA /Olig.06149; Indigenous Bush, big trees, soft moist soil (29°34.219'S 30°19.177'E), 3105 ft, 22.ii.2012, 4 cl ., NMSA / Olig.06150; 11 cl., NMSA /Olig.06151; Indigenous Bush, big trees, wet soil, dense cover (29°34.151'S 30°19.263'E), 2996 ft, 22.ii.2012, 17 cl ., NMSA /Olig.06152; 49 cl., NMSA /Olig.06115; Plantation, wattle & pine (29°33.655'S 30°18.919'E), 3106 ft, 23.ii.2012, 55 cl ., NMSA /Olig.06122; 4 cl., NMSA /Olig.06153; 15 cl., NMSA /Olig.06154; 20 cl., NMSA /Olig.06155; 16 cl., NMSA /Olig.06156; Mixed Scrub, between plantation and grassland (29°33.683'S 30°18.992'E), 3149 ft, 24.ii.2012, 5 cl ., NMSA /Olig.06127; 3 cl., NMSA /Olig.06157; Grassland, medium grass with few trees (29°34.252'S 30°19.174'E), 7.i.2012, 2 cl ., NMSA /Olig.06133; Grassland, open patch of grass (29°34.123'S 30°19.153'E), 7.i.2012, 11 cl ., NMSA / Olig.06136; Grassland, patch with shrubs and a few trees (29°33.969'S 30°19.188'E), 7.i.2012, 5 cl ., NMSA / Olig.06142.

Remarks: The species is known from LP, KZN, EC and MP (Plisko 2010). It is common in natural and agricultural fields ( Ljungström 1972 a; Zicsi & Reinecke 1992; Horn et al. 2007; Plisko 2010).