Metaphire pulauensis Beddard 1900

Metaphire pulauensis (Beddard, 1900)

(Figure 3, Table 1)

Amyntas pulauensis Beddard, 1900: 904 –905, Fig.5.

Pheretima pulauensis (Beddard). Stephenson 1932: 233 –236, Fig. 10. Metaphire pulauensis (Beddard). Sims & Easton 1972: 239.

Material examined. The specimen that contained all the important morphological features and matched the original description is designated herein as the lectotype: NHMUK 1924.3.1.214. Paralectotypes: NHMUK 1924.3.1.215, 1 adult. NHMUK 1904.10.5.1002, 1 adult; same locality as lectotype. The exact location of the type locality is unknown. The locality of all M. pulauensis specimens in the Natural History Museum, London, is labelled as ' Pulau Bidan, Kedah, Malay Peninsula' while Beddard (1900: 904) gives the locality as ' Pulau, Bidang, Kelah, and Aring'. Pulau means "island" in Malay. There is a small island named "Bidan" north of the Pinang Island in Kedah State, northern Malaysia, which may be the type locality.

Diagnosis. Medium-sized, length 143–165 mm with 104–110 segments. First dorsal pore in 12/13. Male pores on XVIII, secondary openings puckered radially around margins. Genital papillae aggregated together to form slightly transversely oval patches, mid-ventral, pre-setal of VII, VIII, IX, XVII and XVIII. Spermathecal pores paired at 5/6–8/9, spermathecal ampulla elongated, sac-shaped, diverticulum twisted into short loops. No nephridia on the spermathecal ducts. Holandric, intestinal caeca simple. Prostate glands large, genital marking glands sessile.

Remarks. The original description (Beddard 1900) was based on an unspecified number of individuals that had been collected by Mr. R. Evans of Oxford, during the Skeat Expedition to the Malay Peninsula in 1899–1900; types were not designated in the original publication. Stephenson, reinvestigating the original material, states the following: 'Two specimens, both already dissected, in a jar labelled " Types "; Pulau Bidan, Kedah State; Skeat Expedition; Nov. 23, 1899. A third specimen in another jar, provenance given as Malay Peninsula … I have examined the two specimens in the first jar, both externally and internally, and the external characters of the third specimen also. The basis of the description is the larger of the two " type " specimens' (Stephenson 1932: 233). No lectotype was designated by Stephenson. We consider all three specimens to belong to the syntype series, and we designate the specimen that contains the important morphological features and matches the original description best as the lectotype (Fig. 3), and the other two as paralectotypes. Both original description (Beddard 1900) and redescription (Stephenson 1932) are detailed.

The type locality of M. pulauensis in northern Malaysia is quite close to the type locality of M. songkhlaensis sp. n. in southern Thailand. However, M. pulauensis can be easily distinguished from M. songkhlaensis by the male field puckered radially around the margins and genital markings on segments VII, VIII, IX, XVII and XVIII, while M. songkhlaensis sp. n. has prominent male field and no genital markings on segments XVII and XVIII.

This species is apparently known only from the type locality, but the mentioning of "Aring" in the original description may indicate that the species was also found elsewhere.