Pheretima urceolata (Horst, 1893)

James, Samuel W., 2004, New Species Of Amynthas, Pheretima And Pleionogaster (Clitellata: Megascolecidae) Of The Mt. Kitanglad Range, Mindanao Island, Philippines, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 52 (2), pp. 289-313 : 292

Pheretima urceolata

Material examined. – 1 adult ( BMNH 1980.27.494), Pheretima (Pheretima) urceolata( Horst, 1893) . [Collector No:] 52W. Beside road 20 miles from Muaraenim on road to Bataradja. Undulating country. Little secondary forest and remains of old paddy area.

Considerable cultivation and occasional house within half a mile. Sp. taken from beneath old house and damp areas around. Tabdjungrindu, South-Central Sumatra, Indonesia., 3 55’ S, 103 53’ E, 200 m. coll. G. Lincoln, British Universities Dragon Exped., 8 Jun.1973. det. E.G. Easton. (Separated from 1980.27.483-494 - houletti complex)

Description. – Adult body size 45 x 2 mm, unpigmented, spermathecal pores paired 5/6, male pores in 6 th setal line, 6 setae between male pores. Holandric, testes sacs paired, ventral; copulatory bursae slightly flattened spheres attached ventro-medially by narrow neck, no pads, conical penis flanked by grooved flaps within copulatory bursa; prostates in two main lobes wrapped around anterior, lateral sides of copulatory bursae. Spermathecae with nephridia on thick long duct, as long as narrower sausage-shaped ampulla, diverticulum stalk long, slender, with ovoid chamber.

Remarks. – Though from Sumatra like the material of Horst’s (1893) P. urceolata , this worm is at the low end of the size range for the inclusive urceolata concept of Gates (1961), has a very different spermathecal shape, 6 setae between the male pores rather than 12 in Horst’s (1893) material, and lacks pigment. I include it here to illustrate that species concepts in Pheretima are very broadly defined, relying almost exclusively on the number and location of spermathecae. This problem will intensify as new material comes to light throughout the Southeast Asian archipelagoes.