A Review of the Earthworms (Annelida: Oligochaeta) from Taiwan

Hsi-Te Shih, Hsueh-Wen Chang and Jiun-Hong Chen (1999) A review of the earthworms (Annelida: Oligochaeta) from Taiwan. Zoological Studies 38(4): 435-442. The study of earthworms of Taiwan began with the Japanese scholars Goto and Hatai (1898). The collecting sites from available publications are limited to Ilan, Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Kaohsiung, and Pingtung. A total of 26 species belonging to 9 genera are recorded in Taiwan: Drawida japonica (Michaelsen, 1892), Aporrectodea trapezoides (Dugès, 1828), Bimastus parvus (Eisen, 1874), Perionyx excavatus Perrier, 1872, Amynthas aspergillum (Perrier, 1872), Am. candidus (Goto and Hatai, 1898), Am. corticus (Kinberg, 1867), Am. formosae (Michaelsen, 1922), Am. gracilis (Kinberg, 1867), Am. hsinpuensis (Kuo, 1995), Am. hupeiensis (Michaelsen, 1895), Am. incongruus (Chen, 1933), Am. minimus (Horst, 1893), Am. morrisi (Beddard, 1892), Am. omeimontis polyglandularis (Tsai, 1964), Am. papulosus (Rosa, 1896), Am. robustus (Perrier, 1872), Am. swanus (Tsai, 1964), Am. taipeiensis (Tsai, 1964), Am. yuhsi (Tsai, 1964), Polypheretima elongata (Perrier, 1872), Metaphire californica (Kinberg, 1867), M. posthuma (Vaillant, 1869), M. schmardae schmardae (Horst, 1883), Pithemera bicincta (Perrier, 1875), and Dichogaster bolaui (Michaelsen, 1891). Among these species, 9 species were published as new species from Taiwan. Three holotype specimens can be found in the museums, but the rest can not be located. One species, Amynthas asiaticus Michaelsen, 1900 was not included in the list because it appeared in non-taxonomic references with no description. The present paper reviews the studies on Taiwanese earthworms, and lists species published from Taiwan according to current classification and their collecting sites. Some mistakes in the literature about Taiwanese earthworms are also discussed.