Poecilobdella manashiae, A New Species of Leech from Tripura, India
C. K. Mandal *
Zoological Survey of India (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change, Government of India), FPS Building, Indian Museum Campus, 27 JL Nehru Road, Kolkata-700016, India.
M. Bose
Zoological Survey of India (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change, Government of India), FPS Building, Indian Museum Campus, 27 JL Nehru Road, Kolkata-700016, India.
P. Sharma
Zoological Survey of India (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change, Government of India), FPS Building, Indian Museum Campus, 27 JL Nehru Road, Kolkata-700016, India.
S. Mridha
Zoological Survey of India (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change, Government of India), FPS Building, Indian Museum Campus, 27 JL Nehru Road, Kolkata-700016, India.
R. Sikdar
Zoological Survey of India (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change, Government of India), FPS Building, Indian Museum Campus, 27 JL Nehru Road, Kolkata-700016, India.
M. N. Hasan
Zoological Survey of India (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change, Government of India), FPS Building, Indian Museum Campus, 27 JL Nehru Road, Kolkata-700016, India.
S. Ghosh
School of Biological Science, NISER, Bhubaneswar-752050, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The present study describes Poecilobdella manashiae sp. nov., a freshwater leech of the genus Poecilobdella recorded from Gumti Wildlife Sanctuary, South Tripura District, Tripura, India. The material examined consists of one preserved specimen deposited in the General Non-Chordata repository of the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, under registration number ZSI-GNC-An 8088/2. The specimen was collected on 10 September 1984 by Dr B. P. Halder and was examined as part of a taxonomic study of backlog annelid collections. The new species is characterised by a brownish-green dorsal surface with five broken black stripes, a brownish ventral surface bearing black dot-like markings, well-developed jaws with numerous salivary papillae, a short vaginal stalk and a large rounded vaginal caecum. The body measures 89 mm in total length and 10 mm in breadth. The anterior sucker is 5 mm wide, whereas the posterior sucker is 8 mm wide and well developed. The body has 109 annuli. Five pairs of eyes are present on annuli 4, 5, 6, 8 and 11. The male and female gonopores are separated by five annuli, with the male gonopore situated between annuli 33 and 34 and the female gonopore situated between annuli 38 and 39. The combination of external colour pattern, annulation, eye arrangement, sucker dimensions and reproductive characters distinguishes the specimen from the other described species of Poecilobdella. The record adds to the known diversity of freshwater leeches from Tripura and contributes to taxonomic knowledge of Indian Hirudinea.
Keywords: Arhynchobdellida, Hirudinea, freshwater leech, Poecilobdella manashiae, new species, taxonomy, morphology, Gumti Wildlife Sanctuary, Tripura, India.