Saga of Herr Hilgendorf s worms... (Oligochaeta, Megascolccidae)

• Published in: Zoology in the Middle East pp. 7 - 22
• Main Author: Blakemore, R J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.2010
• Subjects: Oligochaeta; Vermes
• ISSN: 0939-7140

Herr Dr. Franz Hilgendorf, who first introduced Darwin's evolutionary theory to Tokyo in 1873, collected 'Vermes' for Dr. Wilhelm Michaelsen in Hamburg. The Metaphire hilgendorfl (Michaelsen, 1892)/Amynthas tokioensis (Beddard, 1892) parthenogenetic/clonal spp-complex has since snowballed into >60 names, and its resolution remains the hottest yet seemingly intractable problem in Oriental (and Cosmopolitan) earthworm systematics. Reproductive structures, morphometrics, colouration or intestinal caeca characterizations are largely defunct. Molecular 'solutions' are meaningless without DNA analysis of types under the strict ICZN Principle of Typification in chronological order under its Principle of Priority. A revised diagnosis now accepts Metaphire spp from morphs having non-superficial male pores. Both Amynthas tokioensis (syns.?M. levis; ?A. paiki syns. nov.) as a new record from USA and A. agrestis (Goto & Hatai, 1899) (syn.?A. minjae Hong in Hong, Lee & Kim, 2001 syn. nov.) from Japan/Korea are reviewed. Metaphire soulensis (Kobayashi, 1938) and?M koellikeri (Michaelsen, 1928) are restored separately but the dubious A. defectus (Gates, 1930) (syn. A.jacita) is newly added to the group. Work is urgently needed to separate Metaphire Sims & Easton, 1972 from Amynthas Kinberg, 1867 and to sort degraded morphs under their respective types. More than a generation ago, Gates (1972) said naming intermediates is "ridiculous". Despite this, names continue to be added by workers in Japan or Korea who mutually ignore earlier work in either country: Dozens of 'nationalistic' Japanese 'Pheretima' synonyms have been added as have Korean taxa with manicate caeca e.g., A. yongshilensis, A. alveolatus, A. geomunensis, A. eastoni, A. boletiformis, A. odaesanensis, A. righii, A. fasciiformis, A. sanchongensis, A. songnisanensis, A. ephippiatus and A. multimacu-latus. A degraded digestive 'tube' from Korea named as Amynthas dageletensis Hong & Kim, 2005, plus A. sonjaesiki Hong & James, 2009 (syns. novae of A. tokioensis), have the lowest priority within this 118-year-old saga. Critical conditions of the intestinal caeca are briefly considered, and the emerging 117-year-old synonymy saga of Pheretima urceolata (Horst, 1893) is flagged as a new taxonomic 'housekeeping' concern. For all these issues, molecular resolution via DNA anaylsis of types is advocated.