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General Information

COMMON NAMES: earthworm GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Indonesia.; EXOTIC Southeast Asia, tropical Americas, Caribbean, Indian ocean, Egypt, Australia. COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Naturalised; S.Group (RR - common; ?Outer Islands); Land, volcanic lowlands - localised; Clay soils KEY FEATURES: Clay soils. Not previously reported from south-western Pacific islands.

Cook Islands Distribution

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Southern Group: Present    Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
P

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW

Polypheretima elongata (Perrier, 1872)
SYNONYMS: Perichaeta elongata [0]; Polypheretima elongata

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; ANNELIDA; OLIGOCHAETA; Haplotaxid; Lumbricina; MEGASCOLECIDAE

IDENTIFICATION: SIze 75-300 X 3-6 mm. Unpigmented. Clitellum slate 14-16. Setae numerous per segment. Prostomium lacking. First dorsal pore 12/13. Female pore single on 14. Male pores on 18 median to crescentic grooves. Genital markings: discs paired in 19-24 or absent. Spermathecal pores: absent or as batteries in 5/6/7. Gizzard in 8, intestinal caeca absent. Seminal vesicles in 11, 12 and 13. No lashing behaviour when disturbed but may exude fluid.

GENERAL NOTE: Type locality Peru, but shown by Easton to be indigenous to east Indonesia. Widely distributed in tropics, presumably by human activities that may partly be pre-European. Prefers clay soils and produces deep burrows and long ribbon surface casts. Frequently parthenogenetic outside its home range.

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: specimen, 12/2002, ID Rob Blakemore.

References:
Special Reference: Easton, E.G (1984) Earthworms (Oligochaeta) from islands of the south-western Pacific, and a note on two species from Papua New Guniea . N.Z J. Zool., 11:111-128.

Data Update History (information):
zB02, zD02

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