Glossoscolex dallavecchiai Dudas, Brown & Bartz, 2025

Glossoscolex dallavecchiai Dudas, Brown & Bartz , sp. nov.

( Figures 6 View FIGURE 6 and 7 View FIGURE 7 )

Holotype. COFM BRPR2167 , adult, native vegetation, in 0–20 cm soil, by qualitative method, Mangueirinha , Paraná, Brazil, -26.050652 -52.235993, 966 m asl, August 08, 2023, M.L.C. Bartz coll. GoogleMaps

Paratype. one COFM BRPR2168 , juvenile, same information as the holotype .

Other materials. COFM BRPR2359 , one juvenile, same information as the holotype .

Etymology. The species was named in honor of the farmer Laércio Dalla Vecchia and his family, owners of the São Judas Tadeu Farm, and for his dedication to disseminating good soil management practices and the no-tillage system.

External morphology. Holotype: body length 73 mm after ethanol fixation. Body mass: 0.19 g fresh weight (alcohol preserved). Number of segments: 233. Diameter: 3.7 mm in the pre clitellar region (segment X), 4.3 mm in the clitellum (segment XVI) and 2.9 mm in the post clitellar region (segment XXX). Paratype: length 42 mm after ethanol fixation. Body mass: 0.14 g, number of segments: 198. Diameter: 2.9 mm in segment X, 3.4 mm in the clitellum (segment XVI), and 2.5 mm in segment XXX. Body cylindrical, non-pigmented after fixation. Prostomium open epilobic. Setae widely paired, visible throughout, setae ab visible from IV onwards. Setal arrangement aa:ab: bc:cd:dd, 2.1:1.1:1:1.8:2.1 at segment XXX. Clitellum in XV–XXIII saddle shaped. Genital marks or tubercula pubertatis absent. One pair of male pores, on A line setae, in XVII. Female pores not seen. Nephropores near B line.

Internal morphology. Septa weak in 7/8/9, and veil shaped in 10/11/12/13. Gizzard in VI, with average size (width x length) 1.9 mm x 2.1 mm. One pair of calciferous glands in XII, with dorsal blood vessels, of tubular composite type. Intestine begins in XV, and together the typhlosole, with lamellar form. Five pairs of hearts, the last pair in XI, and dorsal blood vessel visible in segments VIII–X, and above the calciferous glands. Holonephridial, one pair per segment, starting post-clitellar in XVI and extending posteriorly; exonephric, stomate, positioned close to the body wall and intestine, non-vesiculated, slender, and free in the coelom. Paired testes sacs large in XI, with very visible funnels going out of the sac towards seminal vesicles. Seminal vesicles elongated, in the shape of two parallel strips, in XII–LXXIII. Ovaries and funnels not seen. Spermathecae absent. One pair of bean-shaped copulatory bulbs in 2/3 XV-1/3 XIX.

Remarks. Glossoscolex dallavecchiai sp. nov. is similar to G. alessioi sp. nov. and, consequently, to the other species cited in the previous remarks section. However, it differs in the form and extension of the seminal vesicles and copulatory bulbs. In G. dallavecchiai sp. nov., the vesicles form two parallel strips, and the bulbs are more elongated, occupying 2/3 XV-1/3 XIX. DNA analyses also support their separation as distinct species. The elongated copulatory bulbs are a distinctive feature within the truncatus group, extending through 2/3 XV to 1/3 XIX. Furthermore, G. dallavecchiai sp. nov. exhibits an uncommon type of anterior septa, weak and more fragile, resembling a veil-like structure that offers minimal resistance during dissection.