Kynotus michaelseni Rosa, 1892

Csuzdi, Csaba, Razafindrakoto, Malalatiana & Blanchart, Eric, 2012, New and little known earthworm species from Central Madagascar (Oligochaeta: Kynotidae), Zootaxa 3578, pp. 36-42 : 38

Kynotus michaelseni Rosa, 1892

(Fig. 2)

Kynotus michaelseni Rosa, 1892: 2 .

Material examined. HNHM AF /5213, one ex. Bemasoandro, ca. 15 km. N. of Antsirabe, under Aristida sp. grassland with Helichrysum shrubs. Leg. Blanchart, E. 0 1.2005. HNHM AF /5530, five ex., ZMUA-010, two ex. Sambaina. Leg. Csuzdi, Cs., Blanchart, E., Razafindrakoto, M. 20.04.2008.

Diagnosis. Length 175–210 mm, diameter 6–8 mm. Colour alive dark brown on dorsum, pale on ventrum. Segments 1–3 simple, 4–10 biannulate. Setae ab and cd appear from segment 3. Male pores large, ventral on 16. Clitellum circular on 18–26, ½27. Setae closely paired, both ab and cd lateral. Spermathecal pores segmental in cd, one on each side in 15, 16. Septa 5/6–7/8 strengthened, 8/9–11/12 strongly thickened. Spermathecae long, finger shaped. Genital setal glands in 14, 15. Genital setae lanceolate, length 3.2–3.4 mm, diameter 0.05 mm, ornamentation circularly arranged small spines (Fig. 2).

Remarks. This is the first record after the original description. Our specimens differ somewhat from the original description in the position of the male pores, stated on 15, and the clitellum, stated on 19–25 ( Rosa 1892). The position of the male pore in the original description on 15 is clearly due to miscounting of the segments. Consequently, the locations of the spermathecal pores and the genital setae should also be corrected, from 14, 15 to 15, 16 and from 13, 14 to 14, 15 respectively. The clitellum length given (19–25) is unusually short and perhaps due to the not fully adult state of the type specimen, which is clearly indicated by Rosa (1892 p. 3) “ Il clitello (ignoto nelle altre specie) è qui ben evidente…. Esso non è rilevato ma i suoi segmenti sono piu largi dei precedenti e dei seguenti... ” (“The clitellum (unknown in the other species) is well visible … It is not prominent but its segments are wider than the anterior or the posterior ones”).