Altmanella Fend, 2009, n. gen.
Creators: name: Fend, En. V.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2009
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Annelida
Clitellata
Lumbriculida
Lumbriculidae
Altmanella

description: Altmanella n. gen.   
 Diagnosis. Small worms without a proboscis. Dorsal pharyngeal pad present. All chaetae simple-pointed. No lateral blood vessels in posterior segments. First pair of nephridia pre-clitellar, on 6/7. A single testicular segment, with testes paired in VIII or IX, ovaries paired in IX or X. Male pores one pair, behind ventral chaetae in VIII or IX; spermathecal pores one pair, behind ventral chaetae in the first post-atrial segment. Atria elongate and tubular to petiolate; male pores either on short porophores or on penes formed by extrusion of elongated lining cells from a muscular penial structure. A single pair of male funnels on the posterior septum of the atrial segment; one posteriorly-directed vas deferens per atrium; vasa deferentia do not penetrate posterior septum. Female pores on chaetal lines at posterior septum of first post-atrial segment. Spermathecal ducts narrow-elongate; ducts may terminate in vestibules; spermathecal ampullae globular to ovate with large, vacuolated cells entally.   
 Type species. Altmanella freidris (Cook, 1966) n. comb.   
 Other species. Altmanella idahoensis n. sp., Altmanella lenati n. sp.   
 Etymology. The genus is named for L.C. Altman, whose early work (including the description of Kincaidiana) provided the basis for subsequent studies of northwestern Nearctic oligochaetes.   
 Remarks. Altmanella species differ from Kincaidiana s. str. in many respects, and should be assigned to a separate genus. All Altmanella species are small worms (Figs. 2A–B, 13A), and lack a proboscis; chaetae in anterior segments are not enlarged or bifid, pre-clitellar nephridia are present on 6/7, and lateral blood vessels are absent from posterior segments. Altmanella has a single pair of spermathecae in the first post-atrial segment (a common condition in lumbriculid genera), but spermathecae are absent in the less-common atrial and second postatrial segments.   
 In addition to differences in arrangement, there are basic structural differences between the reproductive organs of Altmanella and Kincaidiana. The western Altmanella species have petiolate atria, and penes are formed by extrusion of elongated lining cells from a distinct penial structure (Figs. 6J, 10L–M). The single eastern species has tubular atria and male ducts terminating in short porophores (Fig. 15I). None has pendant penes within an eversible sac (Fig. 2H). Altmanella has narrow spermathecal ducts (Figs. 4, 8, 14), in contrast to the thick ducts seen in Kincaidiana (Fig. 1E). The spermathecal ampullae of Altmanella are globular, with large cells (apparently with sorptive vacuoles) in the ental portion, in contrast to the narrow, more uniform ampullar walls of Kincaidiana. The unusual extension of atrial muscle onto the vasa deferentia is seen only in Kincaidiana.   
 See also Remarks at A. freidris.
description: Published as part of Fend, En. V., 2009, An evaluation of the genus Kincaidiana Altman, 1936, with the designation of Altmanella n. gen. (Annelida, Clitellata, Lumbriculidae), pp. 1-30 in Zootaxa 2077 on pages 6-7