Matskási István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 94. (Budapest 2002)

Czuzdi, Cs. ; Szlávecz, K.: Diplocardia patuxentis sp. n., a new earthworm species from Maryland, North America (Oligochaeta: Acanthodrilidae)

ANNALES HISTORICO-NATURALES MUSEI NATIONALIS HUNGARICI Volume 94 Budapest, 2002 pp. 45-51. Diplocardia patuxentis sp. n., a new earthworm species from Maryland, North America (Oligochaeta: Acanthodrilidae) CS. CSUZDI

1 and K. SZLÁVECZ

2 'Systematic Zoology Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences H-l 117 Budapest, Pázmány P. sétány 1/c, Hungary; and Department of Zoology, Hungarian Natural History Museum H-1088 Budapest, Baross u. 13, Hungary. E-mail: csuzdi@zoo.zoo.nhmus.hu 2

Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD, USA. E-mail: szlavecz@jhu.edu Abstract - A new earthworm species Diplocardia patuxentis sp. n. is described from Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, Maryland, USA. In addition, new data on the distribution of Diplocardia caroliniana EISEN, 1899 and Diplocardia texensis SMITH, 1924 are presented. With 6 figures. Key words - North America, Oligochaeta, earthworms, Diplocardia, new species. INTRODUCTION Diplocardia is an indigenous earthworm genus in North America. Its species are distributed along the eastern part of United States and smaller, discontinuous ranges could be found in California and Mexico (JAMES 1995). Although this is the most species rich genus in North America with some fifty species, different authors agree, that a lot of species are still to be described (GATES 1977, JAMES 1995, REYNOLDS 1998). In his review on diplocardian earthworms GATES (1977) already discussed that numerous morphs and variants could not be fitted into his key, and possibly warrant specific status. In the framework of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES) we have been surveying the soil fauna of the Greater Baltimore Metropolitan Area, Maryland. Earthworms collected in different urban and rural localities were dominated by introduced lumbricid species, but in more remote, protected places we have collected some Diplocardia species, one of which proved to be new to the science.