A checklist of earthworm species hitherto known from Kerala, a constituent of the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot in India, is presented. In total, 88 species and subspecies are recorded, of which 55 are Kerala endemics, 9 near endemics, 14 exotics and 10 native peregrines. These belong to 26 genera and 9 families. The checklist includes the literature citation to the original description, type locality, any significant subsequent generic placements, and the district distributional pattern for each species/ subspecies.
The occurrence of the exotic earthworm species Metaphire bahli (Gates, 1945) of the family Megascolecidae is recorded for the first time from India. Specimens were collected from the Alappuzha District of Kerala State. Its detailed description along with geographical distribution is provided.
Two new species of
Drawida
Michaelsen, 1900, namely
Drawida
polydiverticulata
Narayanan & Julka,
sp. n.
and
Drawida
thomasi
Narayanan & Julka,
sp. n.
, are described from material collected from the Indian state of Kerala, which lies in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot.
Drawida
elegans
Rao, 1921,
Drawida
kanarensis
Stephenson, 1917,
Drawida
modesta
Rao, 1921,
Drawida
somavarpatana
Rao, 1921, and
Drawida
thurstoni
Gates, 1945 are recorded for the first time from the state.
Abstract. Pontoscolex corethrurus (Müller, 1857) is an important peregrine earthworm species in the humid tropics and is found in land disturbed by human activities. Its presence in Kerala state was first reported by Michaelsen in 1910. So far the occurrence of 14 exotic earthworm species has been reported from Kerala state. However present distribution status of any of these exotic species is not yet thoroughly studied. Now P. corethrurus is naturalized in forests, degraded areas, and agroecosystems from the higher altitude areas to the coastal zones. Here, the current distribution pattern of P. corethrurus in the state after a period of 100 years is highlighted.
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