Kynotus blancharti, Csuzdi & Razafindrakoto & Hong, 2017

Csuzdi, Csaba, Razafindrakoto, Malalatiana & Hong, Yong, 2017, Three new species of Kynotus from the Central Highlands of Madagascar (Clitellata, Megadrili), European Journal of Taxonomy 336, pp. 1-14 : 6-9

Kynotus blancharti sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:89CA5809-835D-4698-B6EA-2BDF9178F718

Figs 3 , 5

Kynotus alaotranus Michaelsen, 1907 – Csuzdi et al. 2012: 37 .

Diagnosis

Length 80–90 mm, diameter 4–5 mm, segment number 180–195. Segments 1–3 simple, 4–10 biannulate. Colour light grey, pigmentation lacking. Setae appear from segment 2, clearly visible. Male pores ventral on 16. Clitellum circular on ½18–27. Three rows of spermathecae of oval shape, with long and thin duct in 13/14, 14/15, 15/16. Genital setal glands present in 14 and 15.

Etymology

We dedicate this species to Eric Blanchart (L’Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Antananarivo), who initiated the recent earthworm research in Madagascar.

Material examined

Holotype

MADAGASCAR: clitellate, Antsirabe District , Sambaina, open bushland, 19°38′12″ S, 47°8′49″ E, 1700 m a.s.l., 21 Apr. 2008, Cs. Csuzdi, E. Blanchart and M. Razafindrakoto leg. ( HNHM / AF5652 ).

Paratypes

MADAGASCAR: 3 clitellate ex., locality and date same as holotype ( HNHM /AF5539).

Description

Holotype 90 mm in length, diameter after the clitellum 5 mm, segment number 194, tail missing. Paratypes 80–90 mm in length, 4–5 mm in diameter, segment number 180–195. Colour greyish, pigmentation lacking. Head zygolobous, segments 1–3 simple, 4–10 biannulate. Dorsal pores lacking. Setae small, ab and cd clearly observed from segment 2. Setal arrangement after clitellum aa:ab:bc:cd:dd = 22.5:1.5:13:1:20, dd = 0.27 U ( Fig. 3A ). Clitellum circular on ½18–27. Male pores ventral on 16. Female pores not seen. Spermathecal pores in 13/14(2–3), 14/15(3–4), 15/16(2–3) irregularly arranged from bc to above cd. Genital setal pores in variable position between ab and cd on 14, 15. Nephridial pores between setal lines ab and cd.

Internal characters

Large muscular gizzard in 5. Septa 7/8–9/10 moderately thickened, 5/6–6/7, 10/11 slightly strengthened. Calciferous glands, lamellae and typhlosolis lacking. Dorsal blood vessel simple throughout, last pair of hearts in 11. Excretory system holoic, vesiculate. Two pairs of testes and sperm funnels in 10, 11 enclosed in large peri-oesophageal testis sacs. Seminal vesicles lacking. Ovaries in 13. A pair of large, oval copulatory chambers occupying the ventral space of segments 16–18. Each copulatory chamber bearing an irregular prostate-like gland (pseudoprostate) reaching segment 26. Spermathecae ovalshaped, with long and thin duct attached at 13/14(2–3), 14/15(3–4), 15/16(2–3), arranged from ab to above cd ( Fig. 3B ). Two pairs of genital setal glands present in segment 14, 15 above ab and around cd. The genital setae are slightly curved, with elongated spoon-shaped apex, length 1.8–1.9 mm, diameter just under the apex 0.05 mm, ornamentation with dense short serrations ( Fig. 3 C–D).

Remarks

K. blancharti sp. nov. was previously classified as an unpigmented K. alaotranus ( Csuzdi et al. 2012) . Besides the lack of red pigments, the penial setae are also somewhat different. Instead of being lanceolate as in alaotranus , in the new species the tip is flanked with slightly dentate rims making the seta more spoon-shaped. K. blancharti sp. nov. is clearly different from all the examined alaotranus group species by its COI barcode as well ( Table 3 , Fig. 5 ).

Figures

Fig. 3. K. blancharti sp. nov. A. Setal arrangement, a, b, c, d representing setal lines. B. Spermathecae (14/15) schematic representation. C. Genital seta. D. Tip of the genital seta. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.

Fig. 5. Bayesian inference tree of some species of Kynotus Michaelsen, 1891 using COI sequences. Numbers above branches indicate Bayesian posterior probabilities, below branches ML bootstrap supports. Values lower than 80% are not shown.