Two new earthworm species of the genus Metaphire Sims & Easton, 1972 (Annelida: Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) from Highlands of Vietnam Author Phan, Quoc T. 0009-0001-0305-6865 Institute of Food and Biotechnology, Can Tho University, Can Tho, Vietnam. & Hau Giang Community College, Vi Thanh, Hau Giang, Vietnam. ptquoc@hgcc.edu.vn Author Lam, Dang H. 0000-0002-1236-1087 School of Education, Can Tho University, Can Tho, Vietnam. lhdang@ctu.edu.vn Author Tran, Men T. 0000-0001-9885-7827 College of Natural Science, Can Tho University, Can Tho, Vietnam. ttmen@ctu.edu.vn Author Pham, Quang V. 0000-0001-7175-4684 Faculty of Environmental Science, University of Science, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam. phamvanquang@vnu.edu.vn Author Nguyen, Anh D. 0000-0001-9273-0040 Institute of Biology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18, Hoang Quoc Viet Rd., Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam. & Graduate University of Science and Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18, Hoang Quoc Viet Rd., Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam. ndanh@ib.vast.vn text Zootaxa 2026 2026-01-12 5748 1 101 112 https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5748.1.5 journal article 314783 10.11646/zootaxa.5748.1.5 0a6f13bf-6624-4c5c-9ce8-b54db3a0ba12 1175-5326 19167543 D3D39389-896D-4EF2-9ACF-16566A8D940B

TABLE 2. Comparison of the morphological of M. dalatensis sp. nov. and its congeners in the houlleti species-group.

Characters	M. dalatensis sp. nov.	M. amplectens 1	M. honbaensis 1	M. catbaensis 2	M. dorsobitheca 3	M. scitula 4
Source. 1: Michaelsen (1934); 2: Thai et al. (1992); 3: Thai and Le (1993); 4: Gates (1936).
Length (mm)	95–125	44–52	62	120	54	100
Diameter (mm)	5.3–5.8	2–3	3–3.5	4–4.5	2	5
Segments	101–110	90–112	150	105	76	?
Spermathecal pores position	Ventrolateral	Dorsal	Ventrolateral	Ventrolateral	Mid dorsal line	Lateral line
First dorsal pore	10/11	12/13	?	‘12/13	10/11	12/13
Pre-clitallar setae	54–64/viii	46/ix	47/ix	52/viii	45/viii	37–44/viii
Post-clitallar setae	48–54/xxx	50/xxv	58/xix	70/xxv	44/xxv	44–46/xx
Ventral setae between male pore	12–14	?	?	2	8	12–14
Ventral setae number between spermathecal pores	17/vii, 18/viii	?	?	22/viii	?	18–25/vii, 19–25/viii
Ventral distance between spermathecal pores	0.30x	0.43x	0.33x	?	?	0.5x
Ventral distance between male pores	0.33x	?	0.37x	?	?	?
Male markings	Absent	?	?	Absent	Absent	Absent
Intestinal swelling	xv	?	?	xv	xvi	xvi
Ampulla	Ovoid	Pear shape	Egg- to spherical-shape	Cordate	Sac	Small
Diverticulum	Straight	Sinusoidal-shaped	Curve	Twisted	Sinusoidal-shaped	Twisted
Shape of the seminal chamber	Sinusoidal-shaped, terminal end bean shaped	Cylindrical-shaped	Bean or egg shaped	?	Sightly swollen	Spherical, ovoid, or elipsoidal
Protatic duct	Question mark shape	Folds	Crooked	Elongate, S-shaped	Elongate	a-, u- or cshaped
Copulatory pouch status	Highly elevated	Highly elevated	Limit inside body wall	Highly elevated	Highly elevated	Highly elevated