Three new species and four new species records of earthworms of the genus Moniligaster Perrier, 1872 (Clitellata: Moniligastridae) from Kerala region of the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot, India Author Narayanan, S. Prasanth Advanced Centre of Environmental Studies and Sustainable Development, Mahatma Gandhi University, Priyadarsini Hills, Kottayam - 686560, Kerala, India Author Sathrumithra, S. Advanced Centre of Environmental Studies and Sustainable Development, Mahatma Gandhi University, Priyadarsini Hills, Kottayam - 686560, Kerala, India Author Anuja, R. School of Environmental Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Priyadarsini Hills, Kottayam - 686560, Kerala, India Author Christopher, G. Advanced Centre of Environmental Studies and Sustainable Development, Mahatma Gandhi University, Priyadarsini Hills, Kottayam - 686560, Kerala, India Author Thomas, A. P. Advanced Centre of Environmental Studies and Sustainable Development, Mahatma Gandhi University, Priyadarsini Hills, Kottayam - 686560, Kerala, India Author Julka, J. M. School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences, Solan- 173212, Himachal Pradesh, India text Zootaxa 2021 2021-03-25 4949 2 381 397 journal article 7489 10.11646/zootaxa.4949.2.11 e874c6d1-463e-48b3-8d44-2c45ef752a2b 1175-5326 4636238 C792D613-C435-4BC8-8EF7-150427B0D5C4 Moniligaster michaelseni Gates, 1940 Moniligaster michaelseni Gates, 1940: 508 . Brief description. Colour bluish. Dimensions: 113–157 mm by 5.5–6.5 mm , segments 154–193. Spermathecal pores transverse slits, mesial to d , at intersegmental furrow 7/8. Male pores paired, transverse slits, at middle part of bc . Gizzards 4–5, in segments 16–21. Testis sacs in segment 10. Vas deferens coiled into a mass of hairpin loops, mass as large as or larger than testis sac; vas passes directly into prostate slightly below the ental end; prostates Cshaped, capsule flattened and ovid. Spermathecal atrial glands in segments 7 and 8, duct of each atrial gland about one third the length of common atrial duct. Material examined. 12 aclitellates ( ACESSD /EW/250), shola forest, Rajamala in Eravikulam National Park ( 10°08’47.7”N , 77°02’33.3”E ), Idukki District , Kerala , India , 25 November 2013 , 2088 m a.s.l., S.P. Narayanan , T . Augustine, D . Kuriakose and S. Sathrumithra . Distribution. India : Kerala State : Idukki District: Rajamala in Eravikulam National Park (present record) ( Fig. 4 ). Elsewhere. Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu ( Gates 1940 ). Remarks. This is the first record of this species from Kerala . Previously it was known only from Tamil Nadu ( Gates 1940 ). This species is confined to shola forest.