Dendrobaena meledaensis ( Michaelsen, 1908 )

Dendrobaena meledaensis ( Michaelsen, 1908) stat. restit.

Helodrilus ( Dendrobaena) ganglbaueri var. meledaensis Michaelsen, 1908: 117 View in CoL .

Helodrilus ( Dendrobaena) ganglbaueri View in CoL (R.) v. meledaensis (Mich.) 1908 View in CoL

Dendrobaena byblica View in CoL : Pop 1949: 483, Zicsi 1982: 433, Mršić 1991: 566.

Inv. No. V5017 9 ex., Meleda ( Mljet, Croatia) ( Syntypes) .

Diagnosis. Length 38–46 mm, width 1.5– 2 mm. Number of segments 100–105. Colour pale, but the clitellum has orange coloration. Prostomium epilobous, 1/3 closed. First dorsal pore at intersegmental furrow 9/10. Setae distant, setal arrangement behind clitellum: aa: ab: bc: cd: dd = 1.45:1.02:1.15:1:2.19. Male pores small on segment 15, in the middle of a slight glandular thickening. Nephridial pores aligned in setal line b. Clitellum on ½25, 25–½30. Tubercula pubertatis on 27–28. Glandular tumescences on 9 ab. Dissepiments 6/7–11/12 slightly thickened. Testes and funnels paired in 10–11. Four pairs of seminal vesicles in 9–12. Spermathecae two pairs in 9/10, 10/11 with external openings near setal line d. Calciferous glands without diverticula. Last pair of hearts in 11, with a pair of extraoesophageal vessels in 12. Nephridial bladders simple biscuit-shaped. Crop in 15–16, gizzard in 17–18. Typhlosolis lamelliform.

Remarks. This species has long been regarded as a junior synonym of D. byblica ( Pop 1949; Zicsi 1982; Mršić 1991). However, there are clear differences in case of some morphological characters (clitellum ½25, 25–½30 vs. 25–30, tubercles 27–28 vs. 26–28, pigmentation pale with orange clitellum vs. red-violet pigmentation on the head), thus meledaensis is reinstated here as a separate species. This species seems to be a narrow endemism distributed on Mljet however, during a collecting expedition in 2018 unfortunately we could not find this species on the island.

These specimens are marked as cotypes in the collection, thus we regard them as parts of the syntype series.