Metaphire doiphamon Bantaowong & Panha, 2016

Nguyen, Tung T., Lam, Dang H., Trinh, Binh T. K. & Nguyen, Anh D., 2020, The megascolecid earthworms (Annelida, Oligochaeta, Megascolecidae) in the Phu Quoc island, Vietnam, with descriptions of three new species, ZooKeys 932, pp. 1-25 : 1

Metaphire doiphamon Bantaowong & Panha, 2016 Fig. 5

Material examined.

7 matures (CTU-EW.014.02), residential gardens (10°09'29"N, 104°00'01"E), 16 m, 5 November 2016, coll. Lam HD & Trinh TKB; 5 matures (CTU-EW.014.03), natural forests (10°21'08"N, 103°55'42"E), 82 m, 7 November 2016, coll. Lam HD & Trinh TKB.

Diagnosis. Medium-sized. Prostomium epilobous. First dorsal pore in 12/13. Three pairs of spermathecal pores in lateroventral intersegments 6/7/8/9. Male pores located inside copulatory pouches in xviii. Two pairs of genital markings in xvii and xix, in line with male pores. Intestinal caeca lobuled. Holandric. Testis sacs in xi, separated. Septa 8/9/10 absent.

Re-description.

Body cylindrical, medium-sized, length 168-220 mm, diameter 6.50-7.58 mm, segments 99-133, weight 5.5-13.2 g. Body greyish brown, ventrum paler than dorsum, clitellum darkish brown. Prostomium 3/4 epilobous. First dorsal pore in 12/13. Pre-clitellum setae stouter and sparser than post-clitellum setae; setal number: 65-77 in viii, 94-97 in xxx, 4-10 between two male porophores in xviii; setal distance: aa> ab, zz> zy. Clitellum within xiv-xvi, without setae and dorsal pores. Female pore single, in mid-ventral xiv.

Three pairs of spermathecal pores in lateroventral intersegments 6/7/8/9. Four pairs of pad-shaped genital markings in vi-ix, in line with spermathecal pores.

Male pores located inside copulatory pouches in xviii. Ventral distance between two openings of copulatory pouches about 0.3 × body circumference. Two pairs of dish-shaped genital markings present in 17/18 and 18/19, in line with the openings of copulatory pouches.

Septa 5/6/7/8 thick, 8/9/10/11 absent, 11/12/13 thick. Oesophageal gizzard within viii-xi. Intestinal origin at xv. Intestinal caeca within xxvii-xxix, ventrally lobuled. Last hearts in xiii. Pharyngeal micronephridia grouped in 5/6/7. Typhlosole lamelliform. Lymph glands lobuled, from 16/17.

Spermathecae paired in vi-ix. Ampulla large, oval-shaped; ducts as long as 1/3 ampulla. Diverticula strongly coiled, attached to the middle of ampulla duct; seminal chamber oval. No accessory glands.

Holandric. Testis sacs in xi, separated. Seminal vesicles well developed in xi and xii. Ovaries in 12/13; ovisacs inviable. Prostate glands deeply lobuled in xvi-xxi; ducts spherical, enlarged basally. Two pairs of large accessory glands present.

Habitats.

The species was found in all habitats, but more in residential gardens. They live in clay soils in the depth of 15-30 cm.

Remarks.

Nguyen (2014) also recorded this species in the mountainous region of An Giang province under the name " Metaphire sp. 4". Compared to the description of M. doiphanon by Bantaowong et al. (2016), our specimens differ slightly in the absence of septum 10/11, diverticula attached to the middle of ampulla duct, separated testis sacs, and intestinal caeca slightly lobuled ventrally. On the contrary, M. doiphanon has thick septum 10/11, diverticula attached to the base of ampulla duct, connected testis sacs, and simple intestinal caeca.

Of all specimens, five differ in that their copulatory pouches are deeply concave inside the body wall (Fig. 5A2 ), whereas, in others, the copulatory pouches are convex outside the body wall (Fig. 5A3 ).

Figures

Figure 5. Metaphire doiphamon Bantaowong & Panha, 2016 A 1, A 2, A 3 Male region (concave form - A 2 and convex form - A 3) ventral view B 1, B 2 left spermatheca C spermathecal region, ventral view D 1, D 2 right prostatic gland E testis sacs and vessciles F 1, F 2 intestinal caecum G transection via male porophore H transection via genital markings. Scale bar: 1 mm.