Exploration of Earthworms of India through Online Digital Library

Online digital library (http://earthwormsofindia.com) for identification of earthworms of India has been developed for the first time. The database comprises digital keys for identification of earthworms of India, diagnostics, and mathematical parameters to provide a useful supplement for traditional morphological taxonomists and nonexperts in this area. This will scientifically broaden the taxonomic coverage of Indian earthworms. The genomic signatures with short sequences from standardized regions of the genome for 1192 specimens of earthworms were generated. Earlier, species identification of adult earthworms was possible only by dissection of the anterior end. However, this method is labor intensive, time-consuming, and very difficult for nonspecialists, particularly when dealing with field collections consisting of several different earthworm species. Furthermore, identification is limited to adult worms, as most life stages are unidentifiable and many morphological and anatomical characteristics of earthworms are variable, consequently, and the degree of variability can differ and features can overlap the taxa. The present work appears pioneer endeavor in this direction, as there appears no work available on the digitization of earthworms of India

Phylogenetic Relationships in Earthworm <i>Megascolex</i> Species (<i>Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae</i>) with Addition of Two New Species

Megascolex (Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) are endemic species to India and Sri Lanka, however, to date their molecular taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships have not been reported. We applied the first integrative approach using morpho-anatomical features and a COI dataset to unveil species delimitation (SD), molecular taxonomy, and phylogenetic relationships in Megascolex species. Our morpho-anatomical results revealed nine Megascolex species, namely, M. auriculata, M. cochinensis cochinensis, M. filiciseta, M. ratus, M. travancorensis travancorensis, M. triangularis, M. konkanensis konkanensis, M. polytheca polytheca, and M. polytheca zonatus. We also reported the occurrence of two new species, namely, M. papparensis sp. nov, and M. vazhichlensis sp. nov. Such findings were also supported by the analysed COI dataset, in which these new species appeared distinct on the phylogenetic trees with strong support. The studied Megascolex species appeared paraphyletic and formed three subclades on Bayesian inference (BI) and Maximum Likelihood (ML) phylogenetic trees. The first clade consisted of six species: M. cochinensis cochinensis, M. polytheca polytheca, M. polytheca zonatus, M. konkanensis konkanensis, M. filiciseta, and M. auriculata with strong posterior probability support. The second clade consisted of M. travancorensis travancorensis, M. papparensis sp. nov, and M. vazhichlensis sp. nov with strong support. The third clade consisted of M. ratus and M. triangularis with good support. In addition, the validation of species was confirmed by SD methods, in which the congruence among OTUs was observed with the clear barcode gap of 12–14% suggested by ABGD analysis. However, the species M. ratus and M. travancorensis travancorensis show deep intraspecific divergence and, therefore, require more sampling data. Such findings are essential to study the phylogenetics and evolution of the genus and, nonetheless, demand larger COI datasets to make concrete conclusions

Phylogenetic Relationships in Earthworm Megascolex Species (Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) with Addition of Two New Species

Megascolex (Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) are endemic species to India and Sri Lanka, however, to date their molecular taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships have not been reported. We applied the first integrative approach using morpho-anatomical features and a COI dataset to unveil species delimitation (SD), molecular taxonomy, and phylogenetic relationships in Megascolex species. Our morpho-anatomical results revealed nine Megascolex species, namely, M. auriculata, M. cochinensis cochinensis, M. filiciseta, M. ratus, M. travancorensis travancorensis, M. triangularis, M. konkanensis konkanensis, M. polytheca polytheca, and M. polytheca zonatus. We also reported the occurrence of two new species, namely, M. papparensis sp. nov, and M. vazhichlensis sp. nov. Such findings were also supported by the analysed COI dataset, in which these new species appeared distinct on the phylogenetic trees with strong support. The studied Megascolex species appeared paraphyletic and formed three subclades on Bayesian inference (BI) and Maximum Likelihood (ML) phylogenetic trees. The first clade consisted of six species: M. cochinensis cochinensis, M. polytheca polytheca, M. polytheca zonatus, M. konkanensis konkanensis, M. filiciseta, and M. auriculata with strong posterior probability support. The second clade consisted of M. travancorensis travancorensis, M. papparensis sp. nov, and M. vazhichlensis sp. nov with strong support. The third clade consisted of M. ratus and M. triangularis with good support. In addition, the validation of species was confirmed by SD methods, in which the congruence among OTUs was observed with the clear barcode gap of 12&ndash;14% suggested by ABGD analysis. However, the species M. ratus and M. travancorensis&nbsp;travancorensis show deep intraspecific divergence and, therefore, require more sampling data. Such findings are essential to study the phylogenetics and evolution of the genus and, nonetheless, demand larger COI datasets to make concrete conclusions

Three uncharted endemicearthworm species of the genus Eutyphoeus (Oligochaeta Octochaetidae) from Mizoram, India

Tiwari, Nalini, Lone, Azhar Rashid, Thakur, Samrendra Singh, James, Samuel W., Yadav, Shweta (2021): Three uncharted endemicearthworm species of the genus Eutyphoeus (Oligochaeta Octochaetidae) from Mizoram, India. Zootaxa 5005 (1): 41-61, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5005.1.