Pheretima tigris, Aspe, Nonillon M. & James, Samuel W., 2014

Aspe, Nonillon M. & James, Samuel W., 2014, New species of Pheretima (Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) from the Mt. Malindang Range, Mindanao Island, Philippines, Zootaxa 3881 (5), pp. 401-439 : 408-411

Pheretima tigris n. sp.

( Figs 2 B, 3C, Table 2)

Material examined. Holotype: adult (NMA 4506) Brgy Lake Duminagat, municipality of Don Victoriano, Misamis Occidental Province, Mt. Malindang Range (8º17'55"N, 123º37'01"E), 1500 m asl., Mindanao Island, Philippines, coll. Nonillon Aspe, Nolan Aspe and J. Adeva, Oct. 9–15, 2003. Paratypes: three juveniles (NMA 4532), same collection data as for holotype. Other material: two adults ( ZRC.ANN.0016), Brgy Small Potongan, municipality of Concepcion, Misamis Occidental Province, Mt. Malindang Range, 8º24'04" N, 123º36'47" E, 848 m asl, coll. Nonillon Aspe, M. Lluch and J. Adeva, Feb. 18–25, 2004.

Etymology. The species name is the Latin 'tigris' (tiger), referring to the striped body.

Diagnosis. Large worm with adult length of 230–283 mm; dark red to purple dorsal pigment stripes in intersegmental furrows, equators non-pigmented; one pair of spermathecal pores at 7/8; spermathecae with ovate to pyriform ampullae; relatively small prostates extending from xvi to xviii; 56–58 intestinal vessels; very large, elongate caeca extending from xxvii to xix; penes absent.

Description. Living animals have iridescent, dark red to purple dorsal stripes at intersegmental furrows; pigment almost black in formalin; equators non-pigmented. Length 230–283 mm (n= 3 adults); diameter 8–10 mm at x, 11–14 mm at xx; body cylindrical in cross-section, tail narrowing abruptly in last 6 segments; 113–123 segments. First dorsal pore at 12/13; spermathecal pores one pair at 7/8, 0.13 circumference apart ventrally; large indistinct pads paired in viii behind spermathecal pores; female pore single in xiv, openings of copulatory bursae paired in xviii, 0.14 circumference apart ventrally, 0–4 setae between openings. Clitellum annular, extending from xiv to xvi. Setae evenly distributed around segmental equators; 53–66 setae on vii, 48–61 setae on xx, dorsal and ventral gaps absent.

Septa 5/6 and 7/8 slightly muscular, 6/7 and 10/11–15/16 muscular, 8/9 membranous, 9/10 lacking. Dense tufts of nephridia on anterior faces of 5/6 and 6/7; nephridia of intestinal segments located on body wall anterior and posterior to septa. Large gizzard extending from viii to x; esophagus with low vertical lamellae x–xiii; intestinal origin xvi; caeca originate in xxvii, extend forward to xix, broad base diminishes to narrow tip, several small ventral pockets; typhlosole originates in xxvii, three-pronged origin composed of main central ridge with two short branches posterior to beginning of ridge, then simple fold 1/6 lumen diameter; intestinal wall with 56–58 longitudinal blood vessels. Intestine narrow with thick villous lining in xvi–xxvi, intestine much wider after xxvii.

Hearts in x to xiii, esophageal, but x and xi very small; commissural vessels in vi, vii, and ix lateral; those in viii extend to gizzard; supra-esophageal vessel extends from x to xv; extra-esophageal vessels join ventral esophageal wall in x, receive efferent parieto-esophageal vessels in xiii.

Ovaries and funnels free in xiii; spermathecae paired, postseptal in viii, with nephridia on ducts; each spermatheca with large ovate to pyriform ampulla, stout muscular duct, stalked diverticulum attached to duct ental near ampulla, terminating in oblong receptacle wider at distal end; stalk short, thick. One or two spermatophores in each ampulla, nearly spherical, with long curved tail and ragged, 'dirty' end that may have been a plug in spermathecal pore. Male sexual system holandric; testes and funnels enclosed in paired ventral sacs in x and xi; seminal vesicles in xi and xii, that in xii with long flattened dorsal lobe; vesicles of xi in testes sacs; vasa deferentia slender, free from body wall en route to ental end of prostatic ducts; each prostate densely racemose, extending from xvi to xviii, muscular duct attached to surface of hemispheric to elliptical copulatory bursa in xvii to xix, entering posterior dorsal face of copulatory bursa; paired copulatory bursae extend from xvii to xix coelomic surfaces of copulatory bursae muscular, secretory diverticula lacking; floor of bursae with 5 small pads forming Ushaped array around posterior side of opening; pyramidal penial mound directed to opening from posterior bursal roof; penes absent.

Remarks. Pheretima tigris n. sp. belongs to the P. sangirensis group in Sims & Easton (1972) but differs from P. sangirensis pigmentation pattern, intestinal origin, and number of intestinal vessels, and in lacking penes ( Table 2). Anterior septa are present except at 9/10, unlike most other species in the P. sangirensis group, where septa 8/9/ 10 are absent. Pheretima tigris is a large worm, similar in size to P. ceramensis and P. s. crassicystis (140–440 mm and 240 mm, respectively) (James, 2004), but the latter two species are entirely pigmented and have shorter caeca (xxvii–xx and xxvii–xxiv, respectively). In addition, P. ceramensis has the intestinal origin in xv and has fewer longitudinal blood vessels (36), and P. s. crassicystis has no dorsal setal gap and lacks a septum in 8/9. Among the species at Mt. Kitanglad (James 2004), P. t igris is most similar to P. virgata James, 2004 in size and pigmentation pattern, the origin of the intestine and typhlosole, and the absence of penes, but differs from the latter in the number of setae (76 in vii and 80 in xx in P. virgata ), the number of longitudinal blood vessels in the intestine (42 in P. virgata ), the extent of the copulatory bursae (xviii in P. virgata ), and the number and shape of pads in the copulatory bursae. Pheretima tigris differs from P. maculodorsalis in pigmentation pattern, the origin of the intestine, the extent of the prostate glands, the absence of penes, and in the number and the shape of pads in the copulatory bursa.

Occurrence. Pheretima tigris was found at elevations of 915–2027 m asl, commonly in primary forest in Brgy Lake Duminagat and less commonly in disturbed forest in Brgy Small Potongan. It occurred in soil and rotting logs (Table 1).

Character Pheretima Pheretima Pheretima tigris Pheretima immanis Pheretima lago Pheretima nunezae sangirensis * maculodorsalis n. sp. n. sp. n. sp. n. sp. ( Michaelsen, 1891) n. sp.

Body pigmentation Dorsally pigmented Dorsal intersegments Dorsal Dorsal Dorsally Dorsally pigmented all over with oval dots intersegments intersegments with pigmented all over with stripes stripes all over

Length 54–240 226–235 230–283 365 223–315>116

Width 4–8 9–13 8–14 18–17 10–11 8.5–9

Setae vii; xx 40; 60+ 73–74; 63–75 53–66; 48–61 61–69; 63–68 49; 53 46; 51

Setae bet. male pores 6 2–4 0–4 5 0–2 9

Sper.poresspacing 0.25–0.28 0.09 0.13 0.12 0.18–0.24 0.28

Male pores spacing 0.17–0.25 0.13 0.14 0.14 0.15 0.22

Setal gaps D; V** +/-; - +; - -; - -; - +; - +; -

Septa in 5/6-13/14 - in 8/9/10 - in 9/10 - in 9/10 - in 9/10 - in 9/10 + in 4/5; - in 9/10

Origin of gizzard viii viii viii viii ix ix

Origin of intestine xv xvii xvi xvi xiv xv

Caeca from xxvii xxvii–xxi xxvii–xix xxvii–xx xxvii–xxi xxvii–xxiv

Origin of typhlosole absent in xxx-xl xxvii xxvii xxvii xxvii xxvii/xxvi

Intestinal vessels 36 50–54 56–58 28–32 36–38 20–23

Location of hearts x–xiii x–xiii x–xiii x–xiii xi–xiii xi–xiii

Prostate glands xvii-xix xvii–xx xvi–xviii xvii–xviii xiv–xviii xvii–xix

Copulatory bursae present xviii–xxi xvii–xix xvi–xvii vii–xx viii

Penes + + - - + +

……continued on the next page Character Pheretima Pheretima Pheretima Pheretima Pheretima Pheretima Pheretima boniaoi n. sp. malindangensis misamisensis wati longiprostata nolani longigula n. sp. n. sp. n. sp. n. sp. n. sp. n. sp.

Body pigmentation Dorsal Dorsally Dorsally Dorsally Dorsally Dorsally Dorsally intersegments pigmented pigmented pigmented pigmented pigmented pigmented with stripes all over all over all over all over all over all over

Length 101–133 60–81 55–65 67–75 37–41 89–97 139–186

Width 5–6 4–5 3–4 3.5–4 3–3.5 4.5–5 3.5–4.5

Setae vii; xx 59–78; 62–68 43–47; 50–57 42–51; 43–48 59–71; 52–60 35–40; 37–47 33–48; 42 28–47; 27–51

Setae bet. male pores 0 0 6–7 0 0–5 2 0–4

Sper. pores spacing 0.14 0.16 0.3 0.17 0.16 0.14 0.24

Maleporesspacing 0.03 0.11 0.23 0.08 0.16 0.12 0.17

Setal gaps D; V* +;- -; + +; - +; - +; - +; - -; -

Septa in 5/6-13/14 - in 9/10 - in 8/9/10 - in 9/10 - in 8/9 - in 8/9/10 - in 9/10 - in 8/9/10

Origin of gizzard viii viii viii viii viii viii viii

Originofintestine xvii xvi xv xv xv xv xxi

Caeca xxvii–xxiv xxvii–xxiii xxvi–xxv xxvii–xxii xxvii–xxv xxvii–xxii xxvii–xxii

Origin of typhlosole xxvii xxvii xxvii xxvii/xviii xxvii/xxvi xxvii/xxvi xxxiii

Intestinal vessels 33–45 30 32 34–38 20 42–44 32–36

Location of hearts xi–xiii xi–xiii x–xiii x–xiii x–xiii x–xiii x–xiii

Prostate glands xvi–xxi xvi–xxi xvi–xxii xv–xxii xv–xxiii xv–xx xviii–xx

Copulatory bursae xvii–xx xvii–xx xvii–xix xvii–xxi xvii–xx xvii–xix xvii–xviii

Penes - + + - + + +

including all subspecies; data based on Michaelsen (1891, 1899, 1900)

D: dorsal gap; V: ventral gap; +: present; –: absent.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Photographs of living Pheretima worms in dorsal view, showing coloration. (A) P. maculodorsalis n. sp.; (B) P. tigris n. sp.; (C) P. immanis n. sp.; (D) P. longigula n. sp.; (E) P. malindangensis n. sp. Scale bars: A – D, 5 cm; E, 3 cm.