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Issue: Vol. 5831 No. 1: 12 Jun. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-06-12
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5831.1.4
Page range: 49-61
Abstract views: 66
PDF downloaded: 7

Four Novel Earthworms of the Pheretima sangirensis group (Clitellata: Megascolecidae) from Luzon Cordillera Mountains, Philippines

Department of Plant Medicine; College of Agriculture & Life Sciences; Jeonbuk National University; Jeonju 54896; Korea
Department of Regenerative Organic Agriculture; Maharishi International University; Fairfield; Iowa; USA 52557
Annelida biodiversity taxonomy montane forests soil fauna

Abstract

Four novel species of the genus Pheretima from Kalinga and Nueva Vizcaya Provinces, Luzon Island, Philippines, are described: Pheretima magdalaoensis sp. nov., Pheretima kalahanensis sp. nov., Pheretima akbabensis sp. nov., and Pheretima vizcayaensis sp. nov. These new species belong to the sangirensis group of Sims and Easton (1972), with one pair of spermathecal pores in 7/8. Pheretima magdalaoensis sp. nov. has spermathecal pores that are spaced 0.05–0.08 of a circumference apart and copulatory bursae openings that are 0.07–0.09 of a circumference apart, P. kalahanensis sp. nov. has spermathecal pores that are 0.11–0.15 of a circumference apart and copulatory bursae openings that are 0.19–0.21 of a circumference apart. Pheretima akbabensis sp. nov. has spermathecal pores that are 0.12–0.16 of a circumference apart and copulatory bursae openings that are 0.11–0.15 of a circumference apart. Pheretima vizcayaensis sp. nov. has spermathecal pores that are 0.07–0.15 of a circumference apart and copulatory bursae openings that are 0.07–0.17 of a circumference apart. A brief description of another putative taxon from Kalinga Province, for which only a single late juvenile was found, was included in the study. Descriptions of the new species include illustrations of the ventral view, representative spermathecae, intestinal caeca and prostate glands.

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How to Cite

Hong, Y. & James, S.W. (2026) Four Novel Earthworms of the Pheretima sangirensis group (Clitellata: Megascolecidae) from Luzon Cordillera Mountains, Philippines. Zootaxa, 5831 (1), 49–61. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5831.1.4