Metaphire peguana species-group

Diagnosis. Members of the species-group can be recognized by the following characters: two pairs of accessory glands coelomic, strongly covered by muscular-walled bursae, septum 10/11 only present ventrally. In addition, the group members also have spermathecal pores usually three pairs in 6/7/8/9, sometimes four pairs in 5/6/7/8/9 or numerous in 6/7/8/9 or 7/8/9; two pairs of genital markings in 17/18 and 18/19 or on segment xvii and xix (if not within a copulatory pouch).

Remarks. A total of seven species and subspecies were assigned to this species-group, namely M. bahli, M. doiphamon, M. dorsomultitheca, M. kiengiangensis, M. nhuongi, M. peguana peguana, and M. peguana laisonensis . Out of 7 species/subspecies, M. bahli and M. peguana peguana have been distributed widely, from South America (French Guiana), Australia, South Asia (India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka), East Asia (Japan), and found commonly in Southeast Asia (Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, and Indonesia) (Fig. 3). Other five members have been recorded only in Southern Vietnam, so far (Fig. 3) (Michaelsen 1922; Gates 1925, 1945, 1972; Easton 1982; Thai & Do 1989; Ishizuka 1999; Shen & Yeo 2005; Blakemore et al. 2006; Csuzdi & Pavlíček 2010; Sarkar & Bandyopadhyay 2012; Prasankok et al. 2013; Ng et al. 2017; Narayanan et al. 2019; Nguyen et al. 2016, 2020, 2021a, 2021c; Lam et al. 2021).