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Jeju-Do Earthworms (Oligochaeta: Megadrilacea)-Quelpart Island Revisited

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Journal of Species Research 2(1):15-54, 2013 Jeju-do earthworms (Oligochaeta: Megadrilacea)-Quelpart Island revisited Robert J. Blakemore* College of Natural Science, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Korea *Correspondent: [email protected] Surveys on Jeju-do (Quelpart Isl.) unearthed about 40 earthworm species or sub-species. Several considered new to science are described. Only a dozen were previously known and these are taxonomically reviewed. The two most commonly recorded in surveys by S. Kobayashi in the 1930s were Drawida anchingiana Chen, 1933 and Metaphire quelparta (Kobayashi, 1937), neither recently relocated. Morphologically similar taxa, supported with DNA barcodes, for Moniligastridae, are Drawida anchingiana seogwipo, D. anchingiana halla and D. iucn spp. or sub-spp. nov. For Megascolecidae, new taxa and synonyms are: Amynthas arx and A. aucklandis spp. nov. that have seminal grooves rather than the eversible male pores of Metaphire plus Amynthas simplex is another new species. Amynthas sangumburi Hong & Kim, 2002 is recognized as a probable new synonym within the A. corticis (Kinberg, 1867) species-group while Amynthas corticis saeseum sub-sp nov. is described. Amynthas gracilis (Kinberg, 1867) is a new record from Jeju and Korea (with A. bouchei, A. omodeoi and A. edwardsi all by Zhao & Qiu, 2009 possible synonyms of this species group from China) with a Jejuan sub-species, A. gracilis insularum, sub-sp. nov. Presence on Jeju of Amynthas carnosus (Goto & Hatai, 1899) is confirmed (its further new synonyms are Chinese A. fuscus Qiu & Sun, 2012 and A. taiwumontis Shen et al., 2013), as is A. micronarius (Goto & Hatai, 1898) (with new synonym A. montanus Qiu & Sun, 2012 also an invalid secondary homonym). Amynthas phaselus maculosus (Hatai, 1930) is in new combination with A. kamitai (Kobayashi, 1934) and A. minjae Hong, 2001 syns. nov. Two newly described Metaphire quelparta sub-spp are M. q. seogwipo and M. q. valhalla these being supported with DNA barcodes despite the nominal taxon not yet being confirmed. Keywords: Annelida, Asian, island biodiversity, native and invasive species, taxonomy �2013 National Institute of Biological Resources DOI: 10.12651/JSR.2013.2.1.015 perate supporting a varied flora and fauna that is listed INTRODUCTION as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its Volcanos and Larval Tubes (Wikipedia). Jeju-do (제주도 also spelt Cheju-do or Chejoo-do and The first systematic earthworm survey by Kobayashi formerly known to Europeans as Quelpart Isl. or to the (1937) recorded five species, and another five were add- Japanese as Saishu-to was historically called Doi amongst ed by Kobayashi (1938; 1941), the types now lost. Thirty other Korean names) is a special autonomous province years later, Song & Paik (1970) found six known, three of 1,849 km2 located 80 km South of the South Korean previously unrecorded and one new species. Their total mainland. Volcanic origin commenced approximately 2 of eleven species then raised the island count to 14 spec- Ma (BP) and it was last connected to the Korean Penin- ies of earthworms. sula approximately 10,000 years ago. Its highest mount- Subsequently, Hong & James (2001a) claimed Amyn- ain Hallasan or Mt Halla, amongst several previous names thas youngtai from Mt Halla, but this is a synonym of A. being known to Europeans as Mt Auckland or to the carnosus (Goto & Hatai, 1899) (see Blakemore, 2012a; Japanese as Mt Kanra, is a National Park that supports 2012f). Also, Amynthas yongshilensis Hong & James, 1,565 vascular plants and approximately 1,000 identified 2001b: 80 - a probable junior synonym of A. tokioensis insects. It is a shield volcano at 1,950 m in the centre of (Beddard, 1892) - was collected from Mt Halla (=Yong- the island; thus the island’s basaltic soils are derived chi- shil?) and was sympatric on Jeju and compared only to efly from lava. Climate is subtropical oceanic and tem- their Amynthas alveolatus Hong & James, 2001b: 81 16 JOURNAL OF SPECIES RESEARCH Vol. 2, No. 1 from Sangumburi Crater, Jeju that is exactly the same, are they taxonomically diverse (just 650 named spp from i.e., synonymous, with A. kanrazanus incretus (Kobaya- sodden soils worldwide), thus they do not warrant further shi, 1937) which is comparable to A. kanrazanus kanra- consideration. zanus (Kobayashi, 1937: 340, figs. 3, 4) itself also similar to A. tokioensis. Amynthas sangumburi Hong & Kim, Moniligastridae 2002 also from Sangumburi Crater near Mt Halla resem- Drawida anchingiana anchingiana Chen, 1933 bles both A. toriii (Ohfuchi, 1941: 244) from a cave in Oita-ken and A. subrotunda (Ishizuka, 2000) both current- Material examined. None. Types not known. ly in synonymy of A. corticis. Therefore, A. sangumburi Remarks. Drawida gisti anchingiana Chen, 1933: 202 possibly also belongs to the synonymy of either or joins was elevated to specific rank (in part?) by Gates (1935: both of these in A. corticis, at least its validity depends 3) and Kobayashi (1937: 333, fig. 1). It is comparable to upon deeper research. Drawida gisti Michaelsen, 1931 as redescribed by Gates Most recently, several exotics and a translocated ende- (1936: 406-407) that differed from Chen’s (1933) version. mic, Amynthas tralfamadore Blakemore, 2012, were new- Both Gates (1935: 2) and Kobayashi (1937: 336; 1938: ly reported in Blakemore et al. (2012) and by Blakemore 35, fig. 2) noted that Chen’s description of D. gisti f. typi- (2012d). ca also differed in some important characters from Mi- Previous results are compared and consolidated in this chaelsen’s original and from his types as later redescrib- taxonomic report following collecting trips by the cur- ed by Gates (1937). Gates (1935: 3) had earlier noted: rent author in 2012 to give a current total of more than 40 “D. gisti var. anchingiana Chen, 1933, is not adequate- taxa. ly described but differs from the [gisti] types as follows: limitation of the penis pouches (?) to the body wall, small size and smooth surface of the prostates, and the presence MATERIALS AND METHODS of the spermathecal atria in vii rather than viii. These dif- ferences are important enough to distinguish the worms Surveys were under the auspices of NIBR with funding specifically from D. gisti. The specimens may not be sex- from Hanyang University. Taxonomic determinations ually mature - vide absence of granulations on the prosta- follow the methodology and classifications in Sims & tes, the empty ovisacs, and the small size of the sperma- Easton (1972) and Blakemore (2010b; 2012a). Abbrevi- thecal ampullae, as well as the indistinctness of the clitel- ations are: C - circumference, GMs - genital markings, lhs lum.” - left hand side and rhs - right hand side. A “?” indicates Kobayashi (1937: 337) concluded that the penial aper- some uncertainty. tures were situated “nearer to b” in D. gisti Michalsen, Small tissue samples were taken for mtDNA COI gene 1931, but “much nearer to c” in D. anchiangiana and barcoding by various Korean Companies with preliminary that the spermathecal duct “opens into the broad distal nucleotide analysis via ‘MEGA 5’ (wwww.megasoftware. end of a large long sac-like spermathecal atrium” in D. net) and BLAST programs (www.blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ gisti, but “enters into posterior ectal third of the atrium” BLAST.cgi) provided in an Appendix. Those barcode re- in D. anchingiana. Kobayashi had as its characteristic sults that are confidently proven will eventually be uplo- feature the spermathecal atrium in segment 7 that was aded to GenBank (www.blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank) “often” accompanied by an accessory gland (Kobayashi, and Bold Systems (www.boldsystems.org) or the Interna- 1937: 337, fig. 1B). However, it is not clear that what tional Barcode-of-Life project (iBOL www.barcodeoflife. Kobayashi claimed from Jeju was the same as the Chinese org) with published names. taxon due partly to uncertainty of Chen’s taxon obtained from “Anching, Anhwei and Pukow, Kiangsu”, and due partly to Kobayashi’s specimens that, as well as being TAXONOMIC RESULTS mostly immature, also tending to vary and perhaps repre- senting a species-complex. Types unknown, this taxon Results (arranged by family) are summarized in Table has not been confirmed in China nor Korea - and neither 1. has its sibling species Drawida gisti nanchingiana Chen, 1933: 200. Kobayashi obtained specimens from Jeju town, Enchytraeidae from Mt Halla and from Seogwipo, some of which pro- Several small, pale, semi-terrestrial “pot-worms” were bably come close to the following sub-species newly noted, but not kept, during the surveys and, since they found on Jeju that themselves vary somewhat but which are ecologically ineffectual when compared to megadriles provide objective DNA data for comparison. (usually being grouped with the aquatic microdriles) nor February 2013 BLAKEMORE-JEJU-DO EARTHWORMS 17 Table 1. Summary of Jeju earthworms survey results No. Kobayashi (1937; 1938; 1941) Song & Paik (1970) Recent studies 1?Enchytraeus spp. 2 Drawida anchingiana Drawida a. anchingiana 3 Drawida a. halla 4 Drawida a. seogwipo 5 Drawida iucn 6 Drawida japonica Drawida japonica 7 Drawida spp? 8 Ocnerodrilus occidentalis 9 Amynthas arx 10 Amynthas aucklandis 11 Pheretima carnosa Pheretima carnosa Amynthas carnosus 12 Pheretima heteropoda Amynthas corticis corticis 13 Amynthas c. saeseum 14 ?Amynthas gracilis gracilis 15 Amynthas g. insularum 16 Pheretima hupeiensis Pheretima hupeiensis Amynthas hupeiensis 17 Pheretima kanrazana kanrazana Pheretima kanrazana Amynthas kanrazanus kanrazanus 18 Pheretima kanrazana increta Pheretima kanrazana Amynthas k. incretus (inc. alveolatus) 19 Pheretima masatakae Pheretima masatakae Amynthas masatakae 20 Amynthas micronarius 21 Pheretima phaselus var. kamitai Amynthas phaselus maculosus (incl. kamitai and minjae) 22 ?Amynthas p. phaselus 23 ?Amynthas sangumburi 24 Pheretima seungpanensis Amynthas seungpanensis 25 Amynthas simplex 26 Amynthas tokioensis (incl. yongshilensis) 27 Amynthas tralfamadore 28 Pheretima agrestis Metaphire agrestis 29 Metaphire californica 30 Metaphire haenyeo 31 ?Metaphire hilgendorfi 32 Pheretima quelparta Pheretima quelparta Metaphire quelparta quelparta 33 Metaphire q.
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    Article Physical Properties of Soils Altered by Invasive Pheretimoid Earthworms: Does Their Casting Layer Create Thermal Refuges? Josef H. Görres 1,*, Christina Martin 1, Maryam Nouri-Aiin 1 and Korkmaz Bellitürk 2 1 Plant and Soil Science, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05478, USA 2 Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Namık Kemal University, Tekirda˘g59030, Turkey * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +1-401-743-4311 Received: 28 June 2019; Accepted: 13 August 2019; Published: 15 August 2019 Abstract: Pheretimoid earthworms are invasive in hardwood forests of formerly glaciated regions in the USA. They alter the forest floor structure by creating an extensive, several cm-deep casting layer comprising loose macro-aggregates. Little is known about the physical properties of the casting layer and how they relate to earthworm ecology. Here, thermal and macropore properties of three forest soil textures (clay, silt, and sandy soils, with and without pheretimoids) were measured and compared to explore the possible relationships to their ecology. Thermal properties were significantly different between the casting layer (CAST) and original soil (NOCAST). Results indicate that CAST soils dampen temperature fluctuations occurring at the surface more than NOCAST soil. The increased dampening may be of particular importance to pheretimoid survival in forest fires and during spring when surface fluctuations could expose the hatchlings to fatal temperatures. Macropore volume, an indicator of ease of movement of pheretimoids, was significantly greater in CAST than NOCAST soil. Together, the ease of movement and greater temperature dampening of CAST soils may provide thermal refuges to pheretimoids from temperature variations outside the optimal range.

  • Review of Japanese Earthworms (Annelida: Oligochaeta) After Blakemore (2003)

    Review of Japanese Earthworms (Annelida: Oligochaeta) after Blakemore (2003). Robert J. Blakemore, COE Soil Ecology Group, Yokohama National University, Japan. Email: robblakemore“at mark” bigpond.com December, 2008 Abstract: This updated revision lists ca. 82 valid earthworm taxa in seven families from Japan with approximately 80 further names (50% of the total) either in synonymy or retained as species incertae sedis . About 32 species are known exotics and another ten are possibly more widespread, thus the probable number of wholly endemic Japanese earthworms is around 40 species (ca. 50% of the total valid species). The genera Lumbricus and Polypheretima are now excluded from Japanese endemicity (cf. Easton, 1981), although Polypheretima elongata is an introduced taxon. Changes from (Blakemore, 2003a,b) are new records for exotics Dendrobaena pygmaea (Savigny, 1826) from Yokohama, Eiseniella tetraedra (Savigny, 1826) from Toyama-ken, Eukerria saltensis (Beddard, 1895) from Kamakura/Machida and Biwako, and Pontoscolex corethrurus (Müller, 1857) from Okinawa (see Blakemore et al. , 2007). Revised taxa are: Amynthas agrestis (Goto & Hatai, 1899), A. micronarius (Goto & Hatai, 1898), A. carnosus (Goto & Hatai, 1899) (?syn. A. pingi ), A. phaselus (Hatai, 1930), A. tappensis (Ohfuchi, 1935), A. tokioensis (Beddard, 1892), and A. koreanus (Kobayashi, 1934) to include Korean or Japanese names. Amynthas tokioensis has Metaphire levis as a new synonym, while M. soulensis (Kobayashi, 1938) and ? Metaphire koellikeri (Michaelsen, 1928) are restored. Minor modifications are made throughout the text from Blakemore (2003). Additionally, Korean A. alveolatus Hong & James, 2001 is syn. nov. of A. kanrazanus incretus (Kobayashi, 1937); and A. yongshilensis Hong & James, 2001 is comparable to A.