Two New Eisenia Species from South Korea Similar to E. koreana and Comparable to Eisenoides from USA (Oligochaeta: Lumbricidae)

Abstract

New Korean lumbricids are described: Eisenia gaga Blakemore sp. nov. from remote Gageodo Island and E. sindo Blakemore, sp. nov. from an island at Incheon. Both are comparable to Eisenia koreana (Zicsi, 1972) from near Pyongyang, North Korea. A remarkable yet previously unrecognized similarity to American earthworm Eisenoides carolinensis (Michaelsen, 1910) is discussed, but synonymy is rejected on tenuous morphological grounds (form of nephridial vesicle bladders) with taxonomy supported by objective molecular data (mtDNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 barcodes).

Keywords

• Asian biodiversity
• soil fauna
• endemic invertebrates vs. invasive species