Aporrectodea trapezoides (Dugès, 1828)

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-

22. Aporrectodea trapezoides (Dugès, 1828)

1828. Lumbricus caliginosa trapezoides Dugès, Annls. Sci. Nat. , 15: 289.

Material examined: 2 ex. Regn. No. IV /ANN/NERC-33. India, Meghalaya, WKH District, Mawshynrut village, near Riangdo river , N. 25 o 40’41.8”; E 91 o 03’15.8”; Alt. 913m, 22.vi.2010, coll. I.J.Kharkongor and party .

Diagnosis: Length 60-220 mm. Segments 130-169. Prostomium epilobic. Tail flat or trapezoid. Setae lumbricine. First dorsal pore 6/7-13/14. Spermathecal pores two pairs in 9/10/11. Clitellum 26,27,28-34,35, saddle-shaped. Female pores as small slits, paired in 14. Male pore in form of larger slits, paired in 15. Tubercula pubertatis in 30,31-33,34. Genital tumescences in 9-11, and 28,30,32-34. Intestine from 20. Typhlosole from 21. Spermathecae two pairs in 10 and 11. Ovaries in 13. Testis a pair each in 10 and 11. Small seminal vesicles in 9-12.

Distribution: INDIA: Meghalaya (WKHD). Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir. Elsewhere: Cosmopolitan.

Remarks: This is a peregrine species with an almost worldwide distribution. It is recorded for the first time from Meghalaya. Earlier, this parthenogenetic species was accepted as a subspecies of Aporrectodea caliginosa trapezoides (Dugès) , but recent phylogenetic studies have established it as a separate identity. Aporrectodea caliginosa trapezoides (Dugès) is an endogeic-polyhumic species of earthworm. Their favoured habitats are moist soils with high organic content.