Drawida nemora Kobayashi, 1936

Blakemore, Robert J., Lee, Seunghan & Seo, Hong-Yul, 2014, Reports of Drawida (Oligochaeta: Moniligastridae) from far East Asia, Journal of Species Research 3 (2), pp. 127-166 : 139-140

8. Drawida nemora Kobayashi, 1936

Drawida nemora Kobayashi, 1936: 141 , text-fig. 1.1-8. [From Koryo “(N.L. 37 45 ′)” {sic}, Keiki-do, about 30 km distant from Keijo (= Seoul), Korea collected from woodland about 300 m altitude by “ Mr Kiujiro Susaki , an assistant expert of the Forest Experimental Station , General Governemnt of Chosen ” {sic} in April and July, 1934. Types not known, presumed lost].

Drawida nemora : Kobayashi, 1938: 99-102; 1940: 272; 1941b: 263; Easton, 1981: 39, tab. 1; Blakemore, 2003, 2010, 2014; Blakemore & Kupriyanova, 2010: tab. 3.

Distribution. Central and North Korea, ‘Manchuria’, China and Honshu, Japan. E.g. from Koryo near Keijo (present day Seoul), Korea ( Kobayashi, 1936); with many other Korean records by Kobayashi (1938) some from Mt Kambo (at 2,000 -2,500 m) and Akashima in the far northeast of the peninsula “ found within wet roots of alpine plants such as Pedicularis manshurica Maximowicz in the former and under decayed leaved on granite on the latter ”; from several central “ Manchoukuo ” locations by Kobayashi (1940) and a Chubu-Chiho, Japan record by Kobayashi (1941: 236), possibly introduced/transported there or, more likely given its wide definition, a different species.

Description. Dorsally a dark blue often with a purplish or yellowish tinge, less distinct ventrally and clitellar segments yellowish grey in life. Size 65-185 mm by up to 6.5 mm with ca. 162-247 segments Prolobous. Dorsal pores absent. Setae small and closely paired (ab=cd). Nephropores small in d-lines. Clitellum mostly saddle-shaped in 9,10-13,14. Spermathecal pores small in 7/8 (or just anterior to intersegment in 7) in c-lines as transverse slits. Male pore secondarily superficial in 10/11 approximately in mid-bc in transverse slits; primary pores shown by Kobayashi (1936: fig. 1.4) to be on small conical penes. Female pores paired on anterior of 12 near 11/12 approximately in b lines. Genital papillae variously in 6-13 ventrally detectable either externally or internally, or absent; shown by Kobayashi (1936: fig. 1.1) as medial to c-lines in 8 and 9lhs, 11rhs and in regular medial to asetae in 7-12.

Septa 5/6-8/9 thickened; septa 9/10 and 10/11 fused dorsally with 11/12 to enclose ovaries and funnels. Pharyngeal glands in 3-4. Hearts 6-9; dorsal blood vessel single. Nephridia holoic and vesiculate (absent from first and last segments and from segment 12) with bladders elongate. Spermatheca with ampulla ventral on septum 7/8, spherical to convoluted duct that exits to body wall without atrium nor accessory gland in 7/8 ( Kobayashi, 1936: figs. 1.7-8), or ( Kobayashi, 1938: 100) sometimes papillae just laterally to the spermathecal pores and “ accessory glands ” internally (same species?). Testis sacs spherical, intrasegmentally bulging to both sides of 9/10 with vas deferens slightly coiled and entering body wall under prostate. Prostate described definitively as “ thick oval or circular disc, sessile on parietes ” mostly in 10 that exits to 10/11 via blunt, conical penis ( Kobayashi, 1936: fig. 1.6). Ovarian chamber in 11 with long ovisacs from fused 10/11/12 as far back as 14. Gizzards usually four in 12- 15, or sometimes five in 12-16 or three in 13-15 (i.e. three to five of in 12,13-15,16 suggesting either high plasticity of too broad definition). Corresponding to the external ‘markings’ are small, white spherical bodies that are buried in body wall and appear to duct to exterior ‾ however, some may be parasitic artefacts of gregarine sporozoites.

Remarks. Despite Kobayashi (1936: 146) saying it was the most predominant in the region in number, D. nemora has not since been definitely collected around Seoul (cf. D. csuzdii sp. nov.). Location and selection of a typotypic neotype is required, especially since Drawida dandongensis Zhong & Sun, 2014 from the Sino-North Korea border is described as being similar. However, there are inconsistencies in their description of D. dandongensis , for example they have “ Gizzards 4 in XII-XVII segments ” meaning ‘four gizzards in 12-17’ (=six segments, so six gizzards!?) so it cannot be meaningfully compared to any other Drawida and thus is here given sp. inquirenda status. [These latter authors also mistake the location of the spermathecal pore in D. nemora saying it is at “ posterior edge of VIII ”, while it is clearly shown at extreme edge of segment 7].