A new earthworm species within a controversial genus: Eiseniona gerardoi sp. n. (Annelida, Lumbricidae) - description based on morphological and molecular data

By

Diaz Cosin, Dario
Novo, Marta
Fernández, Rosa
Fernández Marchán, Daniel
Gutiérrez López, Mónica

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2014

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

399

Pages

71-87

Subjects

Earthworms , Eiseniona , lumbricids , species description

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.399.7273

 

Abstract

The morphological and anatomical simplicity of soil dwelling animals, such as earthworms, has limited the establishment of a robust taxonomy making it sometimes subjective to authors’ criteria. Within this context, integrative approaches including molecular information are becoming more popular to solve the phylogenetic positioning of conflictive taxa. Here we present the description of a new lumbricid species from the region of Extremadura (Spain), Eiseniona gerardoi sp. n. The assignment to this genus is based on both a morphological and a phylogenetic study. The validity of the genus Eiseniona, one of the most controversial within Lumbricidae, is discussed. A synopsis of the differences between the type species and the west-European members of the genus is provided.