Diplocardia deborahae Damoff & Reynolds, 2017

Mcgee, Joseph M., Carrera-Martínez, Roberto, Callaham Jr, Mac A. & Snyder, Bruce A., 2024, New records of earthworms (Clitellata: Oligochaeta) from Georgia, USA, including eight new state records, Zootaxa 5437 (4), pp. 510-522 : 511

Diplocardia deborahae Damoff & Reynolds, 2017 : New state record

Towns Co.: (2) Swallow Creek WMA, upland of Dismal Creek, 2 July 2007, Coll: MA Callaham, CN Lowe, BA Snyder, S Rostkowski ; (5) Near Dismal Creek , Chattahoochee NF, 34.8985°N, 83.6676°W, Soil , Hardwood Forest , SW James, MA Callaham, MK Taylor, R Carrera-Martínez, 26 Sep 2017 .

Previously recorded: N/ A. This species was described from five counties in Tennessee; this record represents the southernmost record.

Remarks. These specimens were collected in part by hand-digging, and in large part by a vibrational technique known as “grunting” ( Mitra et al. 2009), whereby a wooden stake is driven into the ground and caused to vibrate with a piece of smooth metal. Several members of the genus Diplocardia exhibit an evacuation to the soil surface in response to this stimulus, and while this behavior is not unique to the genus, it is remarkable that an entire fish-bait industry is sustained by this activity in parts of Florida ( Hendrix et al. 1994).