A new Fridericia species (Clitellata, Enchytraeidae) and the enchytraeid fauna of the Őrség National Park (Hungary)

Abstract

The enchytraeid fauna of the Őrség National Park (Western Hungary), hitherto unknown, was investigated in this study. 14 enchytraeid genera including 47 species and one other annelid worm (Hrabeiella periglandulata) were identified. One enchytraeid species was found to be new to science and is described in this paper as Fridericia zicsii sp. nov. The new species is distinguishable based on both morphological characters and molecular data (mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, nuclear histone 3 genes and nuclear ribosomal ITS region sequences) from similar species. The enchytraeid fauna of Őrség NP indicated well the subalpine nature of this area. The most species-rich site was the hay meadow (32 species) and interestingly, the species number in the Sphagnum bog of Szőce was unusually high (19 species).

Keywords

• Fridericia
• new species
• Enchytraeidae
• fauna
• Őrség National Park