Pithemera bicincta ( Perrier, 1875 )

Chang, Chih-Han, Snyder, Bruce A. & Szlavecz, Katalin, 2016, Asian pheretimoid earthworms in North America north of Mexico: An illustrated key to the genera Amynthas, Metaphire, Pithemera, and Polypheretima (Clitellata: Megascolecidae), Zootaxa 4179 (3), pp. 495-529 : 519-520

15. Pithemera bicincta ( Perrier, 1875)

( Figures 1 K, 21)

Perichaeta bicincta Perrier, 1875: 1044 .

Pheretima bicincta — Gates 1958: 31; 1963: 12; 1982: 40.

Pithemera bicincta — Sims & Easton 1972: 202, 232. Reynolds & Wetzel 2004: 88; 2008: 181. Reynolds 2010: 152. Pithemira bicincta — Reynolds 2011: 283.

Data sources. Gates (1937, 1972, 1982).

Diagnosis. Size 40–80 mm by 2–3 mm. Segment numbers 77–101. Color of live specimens red. Male pores paired in XVIII, small, on a porophore with variable size and shape. Post-clitellar genital markings present or absent; when present, paired on XVIII or on 18/19. Spermathecal pores five pairs in 4/5/6/7/8/9. Pre-clitellar genital markings absent. Female pores closely paired in XIV. First dorsal pore 12/13. Spermathecae present or absent; when present, five pairs in V–IX, with a duct as long as the ampulla; diverticulum usually shorter than duct and ampulla combined. Prostate glands present or absent; when present, medium to large, extending through some or all of XVI–XX. Intestinal caeca paired in XXII, simple, sometimes extending to XXI.

Remarks. Pithemera bicincta was first recorded in the continental US in 1963 in a greenhouse in Maine ( Gates 1963; 1982). Outside greenhouses, it has only been reported in Georgia and Florida. Reproduction of Pithemera bicincta is likely to be parthenogenetic.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Color photographs of live individuals of (A) Amynthas agrestis, (B) Amynthas corticis, (C) Amynthas gracilis, (D) Amynthas hupeiensis, (E) Amynthas minimus, (F) Amynthas morrisi, (G) Amynthas tokioensis, (H) Metaphire californica, (I) Metaphire hilgendorfi, (J) Metaphire posthuma, (K) Pithemera bicincta, and (L) Polypheretima elongata, showing interspecific variations in colorations and body shapes. Specimens are from US (A, B, D, G, I) and Taiwan (C, E, F, H, J, K, L). Photo credit: Chih-Han Chang (A, B, D, E, G, H, I) and Wen-Jay Chih (C, F, J, K, L). The photographs of A. minimus and M. californica have been previously presented in Chang et al. (2009 a).