Eisenia nordenskioldi jilinensis, Qin & Zhao & Zhang & Han & Shekhovtsov & Wu & Aspe, 2025

Qin, Mingyan, Zhao, Huifeng, Zhang, Yufeng, Han, Anne Charis N., Shekhovtsov, Sergei V., Wu, Donghui & Aspe, Nonillon M., 2025, Description of three new subspecies of Eisenia nordenskioldi (Annelida: Crassiclitellata) from Northeastern China, Zootaxa 5642 (3), pp. 225-244 : 232

Eisenia nordenskioldi jilinensis ssp. nov.

Material examined. Holotype: 1 clitellate ( 504R2_03 ), Taiwang Town (41.1600°N, 126.2500°E, 41.1 m elev.), Ji’an County, Jilin Province, 2023-07-25, coll. Huifeng Zhao.

Paratypes: 6 clitellates ( 504R2_01 , 02 , 04 , 05 , 07 , 08 ), same data as of holotypes .

Etymology. The subspecies is named after the Province of Jilin in Northeast China, the type locality.

Diagnosis. Body is small size, length 40–49 mm diameter 3.57–4.11 mm, segments 98–127. Prostomium open epilobic. Dorsal pores from 4/5. Spermathecal pores paired in 9/10/11 close to mid-D. Female pores in xiv and male pores in xv. Clitellum within ½xxvi, xxvii–xxxiii, Tubercula pubertatis within xxviii, xxix–xxxi, ½xxxii. No genital marking. Spermathecae has two pairs within ix–xi, the shape is spherical near the dorsal midline. Crop in xv–xvi, gizzard in xvii–xviii.

Description: Pigment dorso-anterior to xv pinkish,>xv gradually paling ventral pale in alcohol. Length 40–49 mm (n = 7). Diameter 3.57–4.11 mm. Segments 98–127. Prostomium open epilobic. Dorsal pores from 4/5. Setae closely paired. Setal ratio on segment viii in adult specimens: aa: 0.85–1.38; ab: 0.17–0.23; bc: 0.73–1.12; cd: 0.16– 0.23; dd: 3.36–4.40; U (circumference): 7.32–9.39; mean: aa:ab:bc:cd:dd = 1.20: 0.19: 0.92: 0.19: 3.98; U: 8.57. Setal ratio on segment xxviii in adult specimens: aa: 1.52–2.12; ab: 0.21–0.30; bc: 0.92–1.54; cd: 0.13–0.20; dd: 3.36–4.52; U (circumference): 8.67–11.18; mean: aa:ab:bc:cd:dd = 1.96: 0.24: 1.29: 0.17: 4.02; U: 10.00. Setal ratio on segment xli in adult specimens: aa: 1.42–1.99; ab: 0.20–0.32; bc: 1.09–1.75; cd: 0.12–0.19; dd: 3.69–4.20; U (circumference): 10.11–11.02; mean: aa:ab:bc:cd:dd= 1.82: 0.26: 1.22: 0.16: 3.97; U: 10.68. Nephropores alternate irregularly between setae b and above d. Spermathecal pores paired in 9/10/11 close to mid-D. Distance between the spermathecal pores 0.035 (average of seven samples). Female pores in xiv lateral of b. Distance between female pores 0.192 (average of seven samples). Male pores in xv lateral of b just wider than female pores. Distance between male pores 0.251 (average of seven samples). No genital marking. Clitellum saddle-shaped; in ½ xxvi–xxxiii (n= 1), xxvi–xxxii (n= 1) or xxvii–xxxiii (n= 5). Tubercula pubertatis in xxviii–xxxi (n= 1), xxix–½ xxxii (n= 2) or xxix–xxxi (n= 4).

Internally, septa 8/9–11/12 thickened. Spermathecae round, white; spermathecal duct short, thin in ix and x. Testis and funnels in x and xi seemingly free. Hearts in vii–xi. Calciferous glands in xi and xii. Seminal vesicles four pairs in ix–xii (biggest in xii). Extraoesophageal vessels, the testis sacs and epididymis are absent. Ovaries compact in xiii. Crop large in xv–xvi and muscular gizzard in xvii–xviii. Inverted T-shaped typhlosole present.

Remarks. Eisenia nordenskioldi jilinensis overlaps in size with E. n. nordenskioldi , E. n. shenzi and E. n. chinensis but is shorter than E. n. manshurica , E. n. mongol, E. n. polypapillata and E. n. onon (40–49 mm vs. 55–144 mm) ( Table 5 ). Similar to E. n. chinensis, E. n. jilinensis has a thinner body compared with E. n. shenzi (3.57–4.11 mm vs. 5.32–6.5 mm). The dorso-anterior side of E. n. jilinensis to segment xv is pinkish and gradually changes to pale throughout the rest of the ventral side while the entire dorsal side of E. n. shenzi is dark-purple except the clitellum, which is gray, whereas, the ventro-anterior side up to segment xv is purple, of which after, the rest is pale ( Fig. 1 ). Meanwhile, both the entire dorsal and ventral sides of E. n. chinensis have pale pigmentation. Similar to some of the specimens of E. n. chinensis, the clitellum of E. n. jilinensis begins at ½ of segment xxvi. Whereas, the clitellum of the other subspecies begins at xxiv, ½xxv, xxv or xxvi. The setae ratio in segment viii, xxviii and xli in E. n. jilinensis are a little narrower than E. n. chinensis.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Body color characteristics of the three subspecies of Eisenia nordenskioldi. the dorsal and ventral coloration of (a and d) E. n. shenzi ssp. nov., (b and e) E. n. jilinensis ssp. nov. and (c and f) E. n. chinensis ssp. nov., respectively.