Flabellodrilus luberonensis Gérard, Decaëns & Marchán, 2023

Gérard, Sylvain, Marchán, Daniel Fernández, Navarro, Alejandro Martinez, Hedde, Mickaël & Decaëns, Thibaud, 2023, Resampling Bouché’s historical localities reveals three new species and helps identifying a new genus of earthworms (Oligochaeta, Hormogastridae and Lumbricidae) in Southeastern France, Zoosystema 45 (23), pp. 749-768 : 754-756

Flabellodrilus luberonensis Gérard, Decaëns & Marchán , n. sp.

( Figs 3 ; 4 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:7ACF81A1-FE52-4CB4-AC8D-9081EB9A5CB9

TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype. France • 1 adult specimen; Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Vaucluse, D943, 84490 Saint-Saturnin-les-Apt, in the soil; 43°57’46”N, 5°20’13”E; 434 m a.s.l.; 25.XI.2021; T. Decaëns, D. F. Marchán leg.; MNHN ( BOLD Sample ID: DFM-1016 ). Paratypes. France • 2 adult specimens; same data as holotype; Eco & Sols ( BOLD Sample ID: DFM-1017, DFM-1020 ) • 2 adult specimens; same data as holotype; MNHN ( BOLD Sample ID: DFM-1018, DFM-1019 ).

Other material. France • 8 sub-adult specimens; same data as holotype; Eco & Sols.

ETYMOLOGY. — The species name is derived from the massif of Luberon where the type specimens were found.

ECOLOGY. — F. luberonensis Gérard, Decaëns & Marchán , n. gen., n. sp. was found in a Mediterranean shrubland (garrigue) soil at low elevation (434 m a.s.l.).

DISTRIBUTION. — F. luberonensis Gérard, Decaëns & Marchán , n. gen., n. sp. is only known from the type locality, near the city of Saint-Saturnin-les-Apt, between the massif of Luberon and the Vaucluse mountains in the Vaucluse department (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France) ( Fig. 5 ). It is located in the Luberon Regional Natural Park (Parc naturel régional du Luberon).

DESCRIPTION

External morphology ( Fig. 3A, B )

Body shape cylindrical. Body pigmentation absent, mid-segmental dark dots in the cephalic region. Average body length after ethanol fixation: 80 mm (range: 70 to 100 mm; n = 3 adult specimens; holotype: 100 mm). Average body mass: 1.163 g (range: 0.855 to 1.398 g; n = 3; holotype: 1.398 g). Average diameter: 4.6 mm in the preclitellar region (range: 4.2 to 5.4 mm; n = 5; holotype: 5.4 mm), 5.8 mm in the clitellum (range: 5.2 to 6.8 mm; n = 5; holotype: 6.8 mm), 4.6 mm in the postclitellar region (range: 4.2 to 5.2 mm; n = 5; holotype: 4.7 mm). Average number of segments: 283 (range: 187 to353; n = 3; holotype: 309). Prostomium of closed epilobic type. Setae closely paired. Setal arrangement: aa:ab:bc:cd:dd = 14:2:8:1:32. Clitellum in XXXII-XLII (XLIII). Genital markings in XI-XII, randomly unpaired in XXVI-XXVIII, intraclitellar in XXXIV, in ab. Tubercula pubertatis: protruding band in XXXV-XL. Male pores: one pair in XV. Ovipores: one pair in 1/2 XIV, at 1 × ab dorsally from b. Spermathecal pores not visible. Nephridial pores not visible.

Internal anatomy ( Figs 3C ; 4 )

Septa: thickened from 5/6 to 9/10, otherwise membranous. Crop in XV-XVI. Muscular gizzard in XVII-XVIII followed by a membranous pouch in XIX, with an average size (width × length) of 3.55 × 2.10 mm. Calciferous glands: in X-XIV, forming a pair of spherical lobes in X. OEsophagus-intestine transition in XV.Typhlosole starts in XX, forming four folded lamellae. Hearts: in VI-XI. Excretory apparatus: one pair of holonephridia per segment, nephridial vesicles sigmoid with a sub-terminal constriction followed by a loop ( Fig. 4 ). Seminal vesicles: two pairs in XI-XII, large and lobulated. Spermathecae: two pairs in X-XI, intracoelomic, sessile and double ( Fig. 3C ).

REMARKS

This species can be distinguished from its closest relative F. bartolii bartolii ( Bouché, 1970) n. comb. by the position of its clitellum and tubercula pubertatis ( Table 4 ) and by their remarkably high genetic distance (12.14% uncorrected pairwise COI distance).

Figures

FIG. 3. — Flabellodrilus luberonensis Gérard, Decaëns & Marchán,n. gen., n. sp.: A, external view of the anterior body; B, lateral view of the anterior body; C, dissection of the anterior body. Abbreviations: CL, clitellum, CR, crop, GM, genital marks, GZ, gizzard, IN, intestine, MP, male pore, NE, nephridia, SEP, septa, SP, permathecae, SV, seminal vesicles, TP, tubercula pubertatis. Photos: T. Decaëns. Scale bars: 5 mm.

FIG. 4. — Pre-clitellar nephridia of Flabellodrilus luberonensis Gérard,Decaëns & Marchán, n. gen., n. sp. Scale bar: 1 mm. Photo: D. F. Marchán.

FIG. 5. — Distribution of newly described Lumbricidae species, Flabellodrilus luberonensis Gérard, Decaëns & Marchán, n. gen., n. sp. and Allolobophora delitescens Gérard, Decaëns & Marchán, n. sp. (stars), and their closest relatives (circles) in Southern France. All species within the genus Flabellodrilus Gérard, Decaëns & Marchán, n. gen. are represented. Credits: Google 2022.