UTTAR PRADESH JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY

The present study reports the occurrence of two earthworm species, Eudrilus eugeniae (Kinberg, 1867) and Perionyx ceylanensis Michaelsen, 1903, from Hamirpur District, Himachal Pradesh, India. Earthworms were collected from agricultural and forest habitats using digging and hand-sorting methods and were preserved in 10% formalin for taxonomic examination. Specimens were identified using standard literature, and selected material was deposited in the earthworm museum of the Advanced Centre of Environmental Studies and Sustainable Development, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, India. The survey recorded E. eugeniae from six of the seven sampling sites, namely Bir Baghera, Amroh, Badaran, Galore, Ladraur, and Dho. This species was represented by 510 clitellate and 167 juvenile individuals, indicating a well-established population in the sampled habitats. Perionyx ceylanensis showed a more restricted distribution and was recorded from Amroh and Badaran, with 21 clitellate and 5 juvenile individuals. Both species were collected from agricultural and forest land-use systems. The presence of clitellate and juvenile stages suggests local reproduction under the prevailing habitat conditions. The present record extends the known distribution of these species to Himachal Pradesh in the Western Himalayan region. The findings add to the existing knowledge of earthworm diversity in the region and indicate the need for further systematic surveys to document native, peregrine, and exotic earthworm species in different habitats of the Western Himalaya.