Moniligaster michaelseni Gates, 1940

Narayanan, S. Prasanth, Sathrumithra, S., Anuja, R., Christopher, G., Thomas, A. P. & Julka, J. M., 2021, Three new species and four new species records of earthworms of the genus Moniligaster Perrier, 1872 (Clitellata: Moniligastridae) from Kerala region of the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot, India, Zootaxa 4949 (2), pp. 381-397 : 392

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4949.2.11
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C792D613-C435-4BC8-8EF7-150427B0D5C4
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4636260
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03DE3E2A-E90B-FFF0-DACC-FF35C8F1FD4D
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Moniligaster michaelseni Gates, 1940
status

Treatment

Moniligaster michaelseni Gates, 1940: 508 .

Brief description. Colour bluish. Dimensions: 113–157 mm by 5.5–6.5 mm, segments 154–193. Spermathecal pores transverse slits, mesial to d, at intersegmental furrow 7/8. Male pores paired, transverse slits, at middle part of bc. Gizzards 4–5, in segments 16–21. Testis sacs in segment 10. Vas deferens coiled into a mass of hairpin loops, mass as large as or larger than testis sac; vas passes directly into prostate slightly below the ental end; prostates Cshaped, capsule flattened and ovid. Spermathecal atrial glands in segments 7 and 8, duct of each atrial gland about one third the length of common atrial duct.

Material examined. 12 aclitellates ( ACESSD /EW/250), shola forest, Rajamala in Eravikulam National Park (10°08’47.7”N, 77°02’33.3”E), Idukki District, Kerala, India, 25 November 2013, 2088 m a.s.l., S.P. Narayanan, T. Augustine, D. Kuriakose and S. Sathrumithra GoogleMaps .

Distribution. India: Kerala State: Idukki District: Rajamala in Eravikulam National Park (present record) ( Fig. 4 View FIGURE 4 ). Elsewhere. Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu ( Gates 1940).

Remarks. This is the first record of this species from Kerala. Previously it was known only from Tamil Nadu ( Gates 1940). This species is confined to shola forest.