Six new species of the genus Metaphire Sims & Easton, 1972 (Annelida: Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) from southeastern Vietnam
Author
Nguyen, Tung T.
Author
Nguyen, Nam Q.
Author
Lam, Dang H.
Author
Nguyen, Anh D.
text
Raffles Bulletin of Zoology
2020
2020-04-22
68
220
236
journal article
10.26107/RBZ-2020-0019
2345-7600
4577217
650E406A-6668-42DE-B6A6-637B154A10FE
Metaphire
Sims & Easton, 1972
Metaphire
Sims & Easton, 1972: 215
.
Type
species.
Rhodopis javanica
Kinberg, 1867
, by monotypy.
Distribution.
The genus is widely distributed in the Oriental region, from
Japan
through to the Indo-Australian archipelago (
Sims & Easton, 1972: 215
).
Remarks.
According to
Sims & Easton (1972)
, the genus
Metaphire
is distinguished from
Amynthas
Kinberg, 1867
, mainly by the presence of copulatory pouches, from
Pheretima
Kinberg, 1867
, by the absence of micronephridia on the spermathecal ducts, and from
Pithemera
Sims & Easton, 1972
, by the presence of intestinal caeca at or near xxvii.
Morphologically,
Metaphire
and
Amynthas
are clearly separated by the presence or absence of copulatory pouches. However, recent molecular studies show the polyphyletic relationship between
Metaphire
and
Amynthas
(
Zhao et al., 2015
;
Jeratthitikul et al., 2017
). Thus, more data is needed for better understanding of the relationship between these two genera.