Perionyx excavatus Perrier, 1872

Kharkongor, Ilona J., 2018, Taxonomic and ecological studies on the earthworms (Annelida: Oligochaeta) of West Khasi Hills District, Meghalaya, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 118 (1), pp. 56-56 : 56-

18. Perionyx excavatus Perrier, 1872

1872. Perionyx excavatus Perrier, Nouv. Archs. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris , 8: 126.

1987. Perionyx excavatus : Julka & Senapati, Rec. zool. Surv. India, Occ. Paper No. 92: 13.

Material examined: 25 ex. Regn. No. IV /ANN/NERC-30. India, Meghalaya, WKH District, banks of Wah Tyrsung, Nonglang village , N25 o 40’30.7”; E91 o 11’07.06”; Alt. 1085m, 23.vi.2010, coll. I.J.Kharkongor and party .

Diagnosis: Length 50-80 mm. Segments 115-178. Epilobic. Perichaetine. Dorsal pores from 4/5 or 5/6. Spermathecal pores paired in 7/8 and 8/9. Clitellum annular, in 13- 17, setae retained. Female pore single, presetal, in 14. Male pores closely paired in 18, in clefts in a co mmon depressed but tumid field.

Septa 7/8/9 slightly thickened. Gizzard absent or vestigial in 6. Intestine from 16,17, or 18. Intestinal caeca lacking. Ovaries paired in 13. Testis two pairs in 10 and 11. Seminal vesicles in 9-12.

Distribution: INDIA: Meghalaya (EKHD, JHD, WKHD). Andaman Island, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Elsewhere: Indonesia, Madagascar and its adjacent island, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and West Indies.

Remarks: This is a temperate, peregrine species generally found in soil rich in organic matters like in manure and compost heaps.It thrives well in domestic wastes,drainage, sewage areas, etc., so it may be used for waste and/or sludge treatments. As this species can be easily cultured, it can be used as a cheaper and alternative poultry and fish feed. Basically, it is an epi-endogeic species feeding on leaf litter and its associated microbes, and on soils with a high organic content. Recorded, herein, for the first time from WKHD.