Moniligaster Perrier 1872
Creators: name: Narayanan, S. Prasanth
name: Ahmed, Shakoor
name: Thomas, A. P.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Annelida
Clitellata
Moniligastrida
Moniligastridae
Moniligaster

description: Key to the Moniligaster Perrier, 1872 species (modified and updated based on Gates 1940; Narayanan et al. 2021a, 2022)
1. Vas deferens penetrates longitudinal muscle layer prior to junction with prostate................................... 2
- Vas deferens enters prostate directly, without penetrating longitudinal muscle layer................................. 4
2. Prostatic capsule ovoidal to anvil-like..................................................... M. horsti Gates, 1940
- Prostatic capsule different.............................................................................. 3
3. Body length> 400 mm; prostatic capsule spheroidal......................................... M. aiyeri Gates, 1940
- Body length <200 mm; prostatic capsule disc-like and latero-mesially flattened............... M. stephensoni Gates, 1940
4. Spermathecal atrial glands confined to segment 7............................................................ 5
- Spermathecal atrial glands in segments 7 and 8............................................................. 13
5. Leaflet-like glands present on vas deferens................................................................. 6
- Leaflet-like glands absent on vas deferens.................................................................. 7
6. Prostate long, capsule with crisscrossed ridges, prostatic duct slender........................ M. deshayesi Perrier, 1872
- Prostate short, capsule smooth, prostatic duct bulged.................................... M. minor Michaelsen, 1913
7. Vas deferens joins prostate at or close to ental end........................................................... 8
- Vas deferens joins prostate at or close to ectal end.......................................................... 11
8. Atrial gland single on each side................................................... M. gravelyi Stephenson, 1915
- Atrial glands paired on each side......................................................................... 9
9. Prostate bluntly club-shaped, nodulations absent on capsule..................... M. blakemorei Narayanan & Julka, 2021
- Prostate strap-shaped, nodulations present on capsule........................................................ 10
10. Prostatic capsule tubular, nodulation confined to ental end.......................... M. bahli Narayanan & Julka, 2021
- Prostatic capsule tubular, full surface with low nodulations..................... M. gatesi Ahmed & Narayanan, sp. nov.
11. Prostates clavate; duct of each atrial gland short, about ¼ the length of common atrial duct......... M. troyi Jamieson, 1977
- Prostates tubular, duct of each atrial gland equal to or larger than common atrial duct.............................. 12
12. Duct of each atrial gland about as long as common atrial duct................... M. keralensis Narayanan & Julka, 2021
- Duct of each atrial gland about five times the length of common atrial duct.......... M. julkai Narayanan & Paliwal, 2022
13. Prostate and duct bound to parietes in a C-shaped figure, capsule ovoidal.................... M. michaelseni Gates, 1940
- Prostate and duct not so bound to parietes, capsule shape otherwise............................................. 14
14. Prostatic capsule reniform, without nodulations....................................... M. perrieri Michaelsen, 1907
- Prostatic capsule short, tubular and U-shaped, with irregularly placed nodulations............. M. cernosvitovi Gates, 1962
description: Published as part of Narayanan, S. Prasanth, Ahmed, Shakoor & Thomas, A. P., 2025, Description of a new species of the earthworm genus Moniligaster Perrier, 1872 (Clitellata, Moniligastridae) from the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve of Tamil Nadu State, India, pp. 142-154 in Zootaxa 5589 (1) on page 151, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5589.1.12, http://zenodo.org/record/14896843