Metaphire houlleti ( Perrier, 1872 )

Nguyen, Tung T., Trinh, Kim-Binh T., Nguyen, Hong-Lan T. & Nguyen, Anh D., 2017, Earthworms (Annelida: Oligochaeta) from islands of Kien Hai District, Kien Giang Province, Vietnam, with descriptions of two new species and one subspecies, Journal of Natural History 51 (15 - 16), pp. 883-915 : 896-897

Metaphire houlleti ( Perrier, 1872)

( Figure 9 )

Perichaeta houlleti Perrier, 1872: 99 , pl. 2, figs 31–44.

Metaphire houlleti – Sims & Easton 1972: 238; Blakemore 2016: 16, figs 1, 3D, 4, 10.

Material examined

35 matures (CTU-EW 006.09) Hon Tre Island (09°58 ʹ 33 ʹʹ N, 104°51 ʹ 19.3 ʹʹ E), Kien Hai District , Kien Giang Province, 16 October 2014, coll . Kim-Binh T . Trinh; 4 matures (CTU- EW 006.10) Lai Son Island (09°49 ʹ 5.5 ʹʹ N, 104°37 ʹ 37.7 ʹʹ E), Kien Hai District , Kien Giang Province, 16 October 2014, coll . Kim-Binh T . Trinh; 39 matures (CTU-EW 006.11) An Son Island (09°39 ʹ 40.9 ʹʹ N, 104°21 ʹ 40.0 ʹʹ E), Kien Hai District , Kien Giang Province, 16 November 2013, coll . Kim-Binh T . Trinh.

Diagnosis

Medium size, length 48–78 mm, diameter 2.6–3.1 mm, 73–108 segments. Prostomium 1/3 epilobous. First dorsal pore in 9/10. Setal number 38–47 in viii, 49–56 in xxx, 8–11 between male porophores in xviii; setal distance aa = 2.0 ab, zz = 1.6–1.9 zy. Three pairs of spermathecal pores in ventral 6/7/8/9. Male pores located inside copulatory pouches in xviii. No genital markings in the spermathecal and male regions. Testis sacs separated. Holandric. Intestinal caeca simple, within xxvii–xxiv. Septa 8/9/10 absent.

Habitats

The species was found in fruit gardens.

Remarks

The species is widely distributed in Vietnam. It is also a cosmospolitan species occurring in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Taiwan, Singapore, China, Australia and the USA ( Nguyen et al. 2016).

Figures

Figure 9. Metaphire houlleti (Perrier, 1872). (a) Male region (mp = male pore); (b) ventral view of spermathecal region (sp = spermathecal pore); (c) prostatic gland; (d) intestinal caecum; (e) spermathecae (ag = accessory gland, amp = ampulla, dv = diverticulum). Scale bar = 1 mm.