Pheretima elnorroae Aspe, Zhao, Mapile, Obusan, Zhang, Castañares, Florida & Wu, 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Aspe, Nonillon M.
name: Zhao, Huifeng
name: Mapile, Maria Reynalen F.
name: Obusan, Maria Christine M.
name: Zhang, Yufeng
name: Castañares, Edgar
name: Florida, Eric John D.
name: Wu, Donghui
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Annelida
Clitellata
Crassiclitellata
Megascolecidae
Pheretima
Pheretima elnorroae

description: Pheretima elnorroae sp. nov.
Fig. 2
Material examined.
Holotype • adult (PNM 4682), Brgy. Mapulog, Naawan, Misamis Oriental (8°25'06"N, 124°21'37"E), 845 m asl., Mindanao Island, Philippines, collectors: N. Aspe, E. Castañares, E. J. Florida, G. Marapao, 28 January 2020. Paratypes • adults (MSUN-A - 0002), same collection data as for holotype.
Etymology.
The species is named in honor of Dr. Elnor C. Roa, the incumbent Chancellor of the Mindanao State University at Naawan, who inspires the primary author of her visionary leadership.
Diagnosis.
Brown worm with adult length 95–122 mm, diameter 5–10 mm; equators pigmented; 117–128 segments; 7–9 setae between male pores; spermathecal pores 0.18 circumference apart ventrally; male openings 0.13–0.18 circumference apart ventrally. Spermathecae paired in viii, large with ovate ampulla, stalked diverticulum terminating in sausage-shaped receptacles; paired small copulatory bursae in xvii – xxi; genital markings lacking; caeca simple and long, originating in xxvii, extending forward to xviii; prostates large in xvi to xxii, penis present.
Description.
In live animals, dorsal brown, ventral pale, equators pigmented; Length 95–122 mm (n = 4 adults); diameter 5–7 mm at x, 7–10 mm at xx; body cylindrical in cross-section, tail blunt; 117–128 segments. First dorsal pore at 11 / 12; spermathecal pore one pair at 7 / 8, inconspicuous, distance between spermathecal pores 4 mm (0.18 circumference apart ventrally). Female pore single in xiv, openings of copulatory bursae paired in xviii, extending to xxi, distance between openings 4 mm (0.13–0.18 circumference apart ventrally), 7–9 setae between openings. Clitellum annular, from xiv to xvi. Setae evenly distributed around segmental equators; 43–71 setae on vii, 45–79 setae on xx, dorsal setal gaps absent, ventral setal gaps present. Genital marking lacking.
Septa 4 / 5–8 / 9 muscular, and 9 / 10–10 / 11 thin, 11 / 12–13 / 14 muscular. Dense tufts of nephridia on anterior faces of 5 / 6 and 6 / 7; nephridia of intestinal segments located mainly on body near septum / body wall junction. Large gizzard extending from ix to x, esophagus with low vertical lamellae x – xiii, intestinal origin xv, caeca simple and long, originating in xxvii, extending forward to xviii; Hearts in x to xiii, esophageal; commissural vessels in vi, vii, and ix, lateral.
Ovaries and funnels free in xiii. One pair of spermathecae in viii, with nephridia on ducts; each spermatheca large with ovate ampulla, short muscular duct, stalked diverticulum attached to duct near ampulla, terminating in irregular sausage-shaped receptacle, stalk thin. Male sexual system holandric, testes and funnels enclosed in paired sacs in x, xi; seminal vesicles xi, xii, each with digitate dorsal lobe; vesicles of xi enclosed in testes sac; vasa deferentia slender, free from body wall to ental end of prostatic ducts; prostates large in xvi to xxii, each a single, dense, racemose mass; short muscular duct entering on posterior margin of copulatory bursa; paired small copulatory bursae xvii – xxi; tapering penis present.
Remarks.
Pheretima elnorroae sp. nov., belongs to the Pheretima sangirensis group of Sims and Easton (1972), characterized by having a pair of spermathecal pores in the intersegmental furrow of 7 / 8. Members of the group include Ph. sangirensis Michaelsen, 1891, Ph. apoensis Aspe & James, 2016, Ph. camiguinensis Aspe & James, 2016, Ph. sibucalensis Aspe & James, 2016, Ph. timpoongensis Aspe & James, 2016, Ph. alba James, 2004, Ph. asurgo James, 2004, Ph. baungonensis James, 2004, Ph. ceramensis James, 2004, Ph. diesmosi James, 2004, Ph. lagunasensis James, 2004, Ph. mariae James, 2004, Ph. monoporata James, 2004, Ph. paucisetosa James, 2004, Ph. quincunxia James, 2004, Ph. rubida James, 2004, Ph. rugosa James, 2004, Ph. vicinipora James, 2004, Ph. virgata James, 2004, Ph. immanis Aspe & James, 2014, Ph. boniaoi Aspe & James, 2014, Ph. lago Aspe & James, 2014, Ph. longigula Aspe & James, 2014, Ph. longiprosta Aspe & James, 2014, Ph. maculodorsalis Aspe & James, 2014, Ph. malidangensis Aspe & James, 2014, Ph. misamisensis Aspe & James, 2014, Ph. nolani Aspe & James, 2014, Ph. nunezae Aspe & James, 2014, Ph. tigris Aspe & James, 2014, Ph. wati Aspe & James, 2014, Ph. baracatanensis Aspe & James, 2017, Ph. floresi Aspe & James, 2017, Ph. solisi Aspe & James, 2017, Ph. bontocensis Hong & James, 2021, Ph. riparianensis Hong & James, 2021, and Pheretima elnorroae sp. nov. Among these, the new species is relatively similar to Ph. boniaoi, Ph. diesmosi, Ph. camiguinensis, Ph. nunezae, Ph. paucisetosa, Ph. baungonensis, Ph. riparianensis, Ph. baracatanensis, and Ph. nolani in size (Table 2). But Ph. elnorroae sp. nov., has the greatest number of body segments among the closely related species (117–128 vs. 87–111). The new species has a thicker body (5–10 mm) than that of Ph. diesmosi (3.4 mm), Ph. camiguinensis (3.5–5.2 mm), Ph. baungonensis (4.2–4.5 mm), and Ph. nolani (4.5–5 mm). It has a wider distance between spermathecal pores (0.18) than that of Ph. boniaoi (0.14), Ph. riparianensis (0.07), and Ph. nolani (0.14) but has a narrower distance between spermathecal pores than that of Ph. diesmosi (0.23), Ph. nunezae (0.28), Ph. baungonensis (0.38), and Ph. baracatanensis (0.32). It also has a wider distance between male pores than that of Ph. boniao (0.03) and Ph. riparianensis (0.11) but has a narrower distance than that of Ph. nunezae (0.22) and Ph. baracatanensis (0.20–0.22). The new species also has more pre- and postclitellar setae (43–71, 45–79) than that of Ph. diesmosi (28, 38), Ph. camiguinensis (32–34, 39–44), and Ph. paucisetosa (22, 28); it has more preclitellar setae than that of Ph. baungonensis (38) and Ph. riparianensis (37–43) and has more postclitellar setae than that of Ph. nolani (42). Notably, the new species has the longest caeca (xxvii – xviii) among its closely related species. The new species also has penes, while Ph. boniao, Ph. diesmosi, Ph. baungonensis, and Ph. baracatanensis have none. In addition, the new species differs in the position of the prostate gland (xvi – xxii) from that of Ph. boniaoi (xvi – xxi), Ph. camiguinensis (xvii – xx / xxi), Ph. nunezae (xvii – xix), Ph. baracatanensis (xvi – xix), and Ph. nolani (xv – xx).
description: Published as part of Aspe, Nonillon M., Zhao, Huifeng, Mapile, Maria Reynalen F., Obusan, Maria Christine M., Zhang, Yufeng, Castañares, Edgar, Florida, Eric John D. & Wu, Donghui, 2025, Three new species and a new record of pheretimoid earthworms (Crassiclitellata, Megascolecidae) from Misamis Oriental, Philippines, with data from the mitochondrial genome, pp. 389-404 in Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (1) on pages 389-404, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.135702