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Description of two new species of Rhynchelmis (Oligochaeta :Lumbriculidae) from Lake Baikal (Russia), using classicalmorphology and ultrastructure of spermatozoa
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2009
Abstract
The study of new samples of oligochaetes from Lake Baikal (Siberia) made possible description of two new species of the genus Rhynchelmis, R. alyonae sp. n. and R. shamanensis sp. n. Rhynchelmis alyonae sp. n. has modified genital setae, a character mentioned for the third time in the Lumbriculidae. These species belong to a complex of small Rhynchelmis, characterised by two pairs of testes, two pairs functional sperm funnels, no connection between spermathecae and gut cavity, and short, elongate, straight atria extending, at most, into segment XII. Other representatives of this group are R. olchonensis, R. paraolchonensis and probably R. spermatochaeta. The Hrabe specimens of R. olchonensis are not considered to belong to this species and are included into R. shamanensis sp. n. An examination of the ultrastructure of spermatozoa of R. alyonae sp. n. indirectly gives some support to the validity of this group. The group is suspected to harbour other new species in Lake Baikal where it seems more and more to constitute a species flock.
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- Research Article
- Information
- Annales de Limnologie - International Journal of Limnology , Volume 34 , Issue 3 , September 1998 , pp. 283 - 293
- Copyright
- © Université Paul Sabatier, 1998
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