Description
Earthworms (Clitellata, Moniligastridae) of Chaliyar River Malappuram, Eravikulam National Park, Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary, Periyar National Park, Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary and Wayanad Forest, Kerala, a component of the hotspot of Western Ghats, India, were studied by the standard method of taxonomy, and their genomic signatures using the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) were generated for the first time. This study represents eleven species of earthworms of the family Moniligastridae, Drawida brunnea Stephenson; Drawida circumpapillata Aiyer; Drawida ghatensis Michaelsen; Drawida impertusa Stephenson; Drawida nilamburensis (Bourne); Drawida robusta (Bourne); Drawida scandens Rao; Drawida travancorense Michaelsen; Moniligaster aiyeri Gates; Moniligaster deshayesi Perrier and Moniligaster gravelyi (Stephenson). In the phylogenetic analysis all the species were recovered in both NJ and ML tress with high clade support. The average K2P distance within and between species was 1.2% and 22%, whereas the clear barcode gap of 2-5% was suggested by barcode gap analysis (BGA) of studied species, reflecting the accuracy of characterization. The study presents the first step in the molecular characterization of the native earthworm family Moniligastridae of India.
Data Records
The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 27 records.
This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.
Versions
The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.
How to cite
Researchers should cite this work as follows:
Thakur, S. S., Lone, A. R., Tiwari, N., Jain, S. K., James, S. W., Yadav, S., 2021: A contribution to the earthworm diversity (Clitellata, Moniligastridae) of Kerala, a component of the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, India, using integrated taxonomy. Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona. Dataset/Occurrence. https://doi.org/10.15470/l2nlhz
Rights
Researchers should respect the following rights statement:
The publisher and rights holder of this work is Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.
GBIF Registration
This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 0a1c317b-8bb9-4a44-8c48-f9b59d566baf. Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by GBIF Spain.
Keywords
COI; Genomic signature; DNA barcoding; Earthworms biodiversity; Moniligastridae; Western Ghats; Kerala.; Occurrence
Contacts
- Originator ●
- Point Of Contact
- Department of Zoology
- Dr. Harisingh Gour, Vishwavidyalaya (A Central University)
- Metadata Provider
- Managing Editor
- Pg. Picasso s/n.
- Point Of Contact
- Department of Biotechnology
- Dr. Harisingh Gour, Vishwavidyalaya (A Central University)
- Point Of Contact
- Department of Zoology
- Dr. Harisingh Gour, Vishwavidyalaya (A Central University)
- Point Of Contact
- Department of Zoology
- Dr. Harisingh Gour, Vishwavidyalaya (A Central University)
- Point Of Contact
- Department of Zoology
- Dr. Harisingh Gour, Vishwavidyalaya (A Central University)
- Point Of Contact
- Department of Regenerative Agriculture
- Metadata Provider
- Managing Editor AMZ
- Ps Picasso s/n
Geographic Coverage
Kerala is a small state in the south-western tip of India. It is a narrow strip of coastal plain that borders the Arabian Sea from the north to south, next to the neighbouring states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Kerala is known for its lush greenery, highly dense forests, diversified ecological habitats, topography, and the unabated biodiversity. It is surrounded by the thickly wooded and forested hills of the Western Ghats to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. Kerala occupies 38,863 sq. km and comprises approximately 1.18% of India’s landmass (Sreedharan, 2004). With its gift of both sea and mountains, it is blessed with heavy rainfall, altitudinal diversity and fertile soils. , Kerala covers around 600 km of the total length of the Western Ghats. Nearly 56 % of the state has an annual average temperature ranging between 31 and 37 oC and annual rainfall of 3,500 mm, mainly due to the windward location of the Ghats
| Bounding Coordinates | South West [9.456, 77.091], North East [10.111, 77.232] |
|---|
Taxonomic Coverage
No Description available
| Phylum | Annelida |
|---|---|
| Class | Clitellata |
| Order | Haplotaxida |
| Family | Moniligastridae |
| Genus | Drawida, Moniligaster |
Project Data
Moniligastridae is a family of earthworms indigenous to southeast and eastern Asia. It is believed that the family Moniligastridae originated in the Malaya Archipelago’s geographical region (Gates, 1972; Blakemore, 2014), but later Jamieson (1977) suggested an origin near Myanmar. Its natural range encompasses south, southeast and east Asia, from peninsular India to Japan through Myanmar, China, the extreme southern portion of far Eastern Russia, Korea, the Philippines, Borneo, and Sumatra (Gates, 1972). Moniligastrids are dominant members of the earthworms fauna in india especially in the South and North East Regions. Three genera Desmogaster Rosa, 1890; Drawida Michaelsen 1900, and Moniligaster Perrier, 1872- are known from India (www.earthwormsofindia.com). Among them Drawida is most diverse with 73 species in India. Earthworms of this family have drawn the attention of earthworm biologists as they retain the single layered clitellum characteristic of Clitellata other than earthworms (Crassiclitellata) yet function ecologically as do the crassiclitellate earthworms. The Moniligastridae have a broad Size range, just like earthworms sensu stricto. The family is characterized by simple pointed setae, four pairs per segment, a Clitellum beginning on segment 9 or 10 and extending over 3 to 10 segments, including those bearing genital Pores; male pores one pair (Drawida, Moniligaster) or two pairs (Desmogaster) in or near grooves 10/11, 11/12 or 12/13; female pores one pair in 11/12 or XII or XIV. The spermathecal pores are one or two pairs in 7/8 or 8/9 or 7/8 and 8/9; the oesophagus with two gizzards anterior to X or two to ten gizzards at the beginning of the intestine. The last hearts are two segments in front of the ovarian segment; they are holonephridial. Testes and funnels one or two pairs enclosed in one or two pairs of testis sacs. Vasa deferentia opening into prostate glands. One pair of ovaries in the segment immediately in front of the groove or segment on which the female pores are situated, one pair of ovisacs extending backwards from the ovarian segment. One or two pairs of spermathecae with long tubular ducts. Without typhlosole, calciferous glands, supra–intestinal glands and seminal vesicles. The use of these morpho–anatomical characteristics has often been a barrier to the identification of these earthworms, leading to imprecise identification of taxa. The present study is the first attempt to provide a means for rapid assessment of some moniligastrids by using molecular data. The study was performed in the Kerala state, as half of its area falls under the Western Ghats, one of the world’s eight most important biodiversity hotspots (Myers et al., 2000; Mittermeier et al., 2011). Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the earthworm diversity and the phylogenetic relationship of some moniligastrids with the use of DNA barcodes as a standard genetic marker for identification of earthworm species of Kerala.
| Title | A contribution to the earthworm diversity (Clitellata, Moniligastridae) of Kerala, a component of the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, India, using integrated taxonomy |
|---|---|
| Study Area Description | Kerala is a small state in the south–western tip of India. It is a narrow strip of coastal plain that borders the Arabian Sea from the north to south, next to the neighbouring states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The state is recognized for its lush greenery, highly dense forests, diversified ecological habitats, topography, and the high biodiversity. It is bounded by the thickly wooded and forested hills of the Western Ghats to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. Kerala occupies 38,863 sq. km and comprises approximately 1.18 % of India’s landmass (Sreedharan, 2004). Out of the total length of the Western Ghats, Kerala covers around 600 km. Nearly 56 % of the total geographical area of the state has an annual average temperature ranging between 31-37 oC and annual rainfall of 3,500 mm, mainly due to the windward location to the Ghats (Rao, 1976). Due to the integration and combination of different climatic conditions like warmer climate, altitudinal variations, two different rainfall patterns and seasons (Southwest monsoon and North–East monsoon), several soil types and agro–ecological zones, Kerala has a variety of macro environments that vary from tropical rain forests to hot dry deciduous forests. These diversified habitats and local ecological niches contributed to a variety of macro and micro environments conducive for a variety of flora and fauna requiring contrasting environment. Of the biota of India, the state sustains over 24 % of the plant species, 30 % of the animal species, and 35 % of the freshwater fish species (Sreedharan, 2004). |
| Design Description | Earthworm samples analysed in the present study were collected from different sampling sites in Kerala (fig. 1). The locations, species names, coordinates, and their BOLD accession numbers are provided in table 1. Samples were collected by digging and hand–sorting according to the method described by Satchell (1969).The specimens were anesthetized in 30 % (v/v) ethanol. Small pieces of muscle tissue from the tail region were then cut and preserved in 100 % (v/v) ethanol solution for molecular investigation. Next the earthworm samples were fixed in 10 % (w/v) formalin for morphological identification. 100 % ethanol preserved tissue of each sample was placed in the Museum of Dr. Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya (A Central University), Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, India as reference. |
The personnel involved in the project:
- Author
Sampling Methods
Collection of earthworm samples Earthworm samples analysed in the present study were collected from different sampling sites in Kerala (fig. 1). The locations, species names, coordinates, and their BOLD accession numbers are provided in table 1. Samples were collected by digging and hand–sorting according to the method described by Satchell (1969).The specimens were anesthetized in 30 % (v/v) ethanol. Small pieces of muscle tissue from the tail region were then cut and preserved in 100 % (v/v) ethanol solution for molecular investigation. Next the earthworm samples were fixed in 10 % (w/v) formalin for morphological identification. 100 % ethanol preserved tissue of each sample was placed in the Museum of Dr. Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya (A Central University), Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, India as reference.
| Study Extent | Kerala is a small state in the south–western tip of India. It is a narrow strip of coastal plain that borders the Arabian Sea from the north to south, next to the neighbouring states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The state is recognized for its lush greenery, highly dense forests, diversified ecological habitats, topography, and the high biodiversity. It is bounded by the thickly wooded and forested hills of the Western Ghats to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. Kerala occupies 38,863 sq. km and comprises approximately 1.18 % of India’s landmass (Sreedharan, 2004). Out of the total length of the Western Ghats, Kerala covers around 600 km. Nearly 56 % of the total geographical area of the state has an annual average temperature ranging between 31-37 oC and annual rainfall of 3,500 mm, mainly due to the windward location to the Ghats (Rao, 1976). Due to the integration and combination of different climatic conditions like warmer climate, altitudinal variations, two different rainfall patterns and seasons (Southwest monsoon and North–East monsoon), several soil types and agro–ecological zones, Kerala has a variety of macro environments that vary from tropical rain forests to hot dry deciduous forests. These diversified habitats and local ecological niches contributed to a variety of macro and micro environments conducive for a variety of flora and fauna requiring contrasting environment. Of the biota of India, the state sustains over 24 % of the plant species, 30 % of the animal species, and 35 % of the freshwater fish species (Sreedharan, 2004). |
|---|
Method step description:
- Sample management and morphological classification Prior to applying the molecular technique for evaluation, we identified earthworms on the basis of specific diagnostic morphological characters under a stereoscopic zoom microscope (Leica Model No. M60) using the available literature (Stephenson, 1923; Aiyer, 1929; Gates, 1972; Julka, 1988; Narayanan et al., 2016, 2017). A camera lucida was used for drawings and abbreviations: sp.p, spermathecal pore; mp, male pore; atr, atrium; sp.d, spermathecal duct; amp, ampulla; ts.s, testis sac; vd, vas deferens; prs, prostate; atr.gl, atrial gland) were used in the figures. Voucher specimens are housed in the Museum, Department of Zoology, Dr. Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya (A Central University), Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, India. DNA sequencing For DNA sequencing the small pieces of muscle tissue from tail region were used. Total 28 samples of moniligastrids were sent to Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD System), Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, University of Guelph, Canada (Ratnasingham and Hebert, 2007) following appropriate protocol to obtain DNA sequences, accession numbers and Barcode. All the data used in present study is available on BOLD website under the project entitled (IEW) "Diversity studies in earthworms of India". In addition, 28 COI sequences were retrieved from the NCBI and BOLD free public domain for molecular analysis (see table 2 for more details).
Bibliographic Citations
- Thakur, S. S., Lone, A. R., Tiwari, N., Jain, S. K., James, S. W., Yadav, S., 2021. A contribution to the earthworm diversity (Clitellata, Moniligastridae) of Kerala, a component of the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, India, using integrated taxonomy. Animal Biodiversity and Conservation, 44.1: 117–137, Doi: https://doi.org/10.32800/abc.2021.44.0117 https://doi.org/10.32800/abc.2021.44.0117
Additional Metadata
| Alternative Identifiers | 10.15470/l2nlhz |
|---|---|
| 0a1c317b-8bb9-4a44-8c48-f9b59d566baf | |
| https://ipt.gbif.es/resource?r=moniligastridae_kerala_india |