Amynthas corticis
Creators: name: Nxele, Thembeka C.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2012
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Annelida
Clitellata
Opisthopora
Megascolecidae
Amynthas
Amynthas corticis

description: Amynthas corticis (Kinberg, 1867)   
 Perichaeta corticis: Kinberg 1867: 102.   
 Megascolex diffringens Baird, 1869: 40; Blakemore 2004 b: 127, table 1.   
 Pheretima heterochaeta (Michaelsen, 1891): Michaelsen 1913: 417.   
 Pheretima diffringens: Gates 1954: 227; 1972: 177; Ljungström 1972 a: 46.   
 Amynthas diffringens: Reynolds & Cook 1976: 94; Reynolds 1993: 5; Dlamini 2002: 62; Horn et al. 2007: 175; Plisko 2010: 302.   
 Amynthas corticis: Zicsi & Pajor 1992: 134; Zicsi & Reinecke 1992: 156; Zicsi 1998: 74; Blakemore 2004 b: 127, table 1; Plisko 2010: 302.   
Type locality: Hawaii, Oahu.  
Description:  
 External: Body length 60–150 mm, width 3–4 mm. Number of segments 80–118. Prostomium epilobous. Setae absent in clitellum in some specimens but present in others. First dorsal pore in 10/11. Clitellum circular on 14–16 with distinct anterior and posterior borders at intersegmental furrows 13/14 and 16/17, mostly orangey in preserved material. Spermathecal pores paired, minute in the four intersegmental furrows 5/6–8/9, ca 0.3 of body circumference apart. Female pore single, minute, on 14. Male pores paired on 18, with swollen porophores. Genital markings on 7–9, paired, small and round-shaped, appearing paler than the body.   
 Internal: Septa 5/6, 6/7 and 7/8 are somewhat thickened but not to the extent of being muscular, 8/9 and 9/10 missing. Gizzard well developed in 8–10. Intestinal origin in 15. Caeca simple in 27, extending forward to 24. Holandric. Spermathecae paired in 5/6–8/9, large and triangular with simple diverticulum, duct shorter than ampulla, which is triangular. Seminal vesicles big, in 11–12. Prostates in 16–18, missing in 20 specimens.   
Material examined: 37 cl.: Woodland, on the side of the road near fence (29°34.810'S 30°19.217'E), 23.ii.2012, 2 cl., NMSA /Olig.06100; Lawn, at the picnic site (29°34.091'S 30°19.276'E), 3040 ft, 24.ii.2012, 3 cl., NMSA /Olig.06108; 1 cl., NMSA /Olig.06159; Indigenous Bush (29°34.357'S 30°19.399'E), 22.ii.2012, 3 cl., NMSA /Olig.06160; Indigenous Bush, big trees, soft moist soil (29°34.219'S 30°19.177'E), 3105 ft, 22.ii.2012, 1 cl., NMSA /Olig.06161; Indigenous Bush, big trees, wet soil, dense cover (29°34.151'S 30°19.263'E), 2996 ft, 22.ii.2012, 19 cl., NMSA /Olig.06114; Plantation, wattle & pine (29°33.655'S 30°18.919'E), 3106 ft, 23.ii.2012, 3 cl., NMSA /Olig.06162; 5 cl., NMSA /Olig.06121.  
 Remarks: The species has been reported from almost all over South Africa (MP, GP, NW, FS, KZN, EC, WC and LP). It is common in the upper layer of soil, mostly in rotting litter in plantations (Plisko 2010) and decomposed sugarcane reed (Ljungström 1972 a). From NMSAD, it is apparent that this species occupies a wide range of biotopes.
description: Published as part of Nxele, Thembeka C., 2012, The megadrile fauna (Annelida: Oligochaeta) of Queen Elizabeth Park, South Africa: species composition and distribution within different vegetation types, pp. 543 in African Invertebrates 53 (2) on pages 551-552, DOI: 10.5733/afin.053.0207, http://zenodo.org/record/7918468