Morphological Identification And Species Diversity Of The Earthworm Population (Clitellata: Opisthopora) From Malakand And Mardan District Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan

Abstract

Earthworms are the important soil engineers that recycle the nutrients, improve the soil health by aerating, and beak down the organic nutrients to increase the agricultural productivity. Earthworms are biological indicators, their healthy population indicate the soil health. Agricultural practices such as tilling, use of pesticides and other chemicals destroyed their habitats and population. The present study was conducted to investigate the species diversity of Earthworms in Mardan and Malakand districts, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan during the field study from March to September, 2025. The specimens were collected from the six different sites such as Sakha Kot, Chail Banda, Gujjar Ghari, Takht Bhai, Pir Abad, and Sarkai Bala.  The collected samples were identified using standard taxonomic keys and preserved under the laboratory conditions. In this study, a total for three different species were identified such as Amynthas morrisi, Amynthas hupeinsis and Ocnerodrilus occidentalis. The morphological analysis showed some interspecific variations on segments of clitellum cover, location of male and female pores, shape of the prostomium, genital marks and in body weight and size. To find the species diversity, a total of 1460 samples were collected. In which the Amynthas morrisi (specimens; 505) was calculated more prominent and diverse as compared to Ocnerodrilus occidentalis (specimens; 500) and Amynthas hupeinsis (specimens; 455). The most diverse region in the selected sites were recorded as the Sakha Kot and Chail Banda, while the least diverse region were recorded Pir Abad and Gujjar Ghari. On the base species abundance, the species A. morrisi was more dominant and prevalent in Gujjar Ghari (49.16%), the species A. hupeinsis recorded more dominant and prevalent in Takht Bhai (50.40%) and Pir Abad (63%). While the species O. occidentalis was more prevalent and dominant in Sakha Kot (45%), Chail Banda (42.66%) and Sarkai Bala (37.27%). The present study provided a baseline for oligochaetologist to be utilized in the further ecological and taxonomic studies of earthworms’ population in Pakistan.