Two New Earthworm Species Discovered in Tripura

Agartala, Jun 14: The northeastern state of Tripura has carved its name in the annals of scientific discovery following the identification of two previously unknown earthworm species found thriving in the state’s agricultural plantations.

The two new species, Kanchuria tripuraensis and Kanchuria priyasankari, were discovered through a national-level collaboration between researchers from Tripura and Kerala.

According to Dr. Animesh Dey, Assistant Professor at the Ecology and Biodiversity Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Tripura University, “The research team was led by Professor Priyasankar Chaudhuri (Retd.), Earthworm Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Tripura University, working alongside researchers from Kerala including S. Prasanth Narayanan and V. T. Kurien.”

This discovery is particularly significant as the Eastern Himalaya-Northeastern Hills region represents the second most earthworm species-rich area in India. The genus Kanchuria, first described by Julka in 1988, is endemic to northeastern India and was previously known to contain only eight species. With these two new additions, the total number of Kanchuria species has now increased to ten.

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Dr. Dey explained the research timeline: “During 2005, Dr. Sabyasachi Nath, during his doctoral research under Professor Priyasankar Chaudhuri’s supervision, first collected these species from rubber plantations across Tripura. Initially, only genus-level identification was possible, and these species were named Kanchuria sp1 and sp2.”

According to the official statement, subsequent collections were made by several PhD scholars including Dr. S. Bhattacharjee, Dr. Animesh Dey, Dr. S.K.S. Jamatia, Dr. B. Debbarma, Dr. S. Debnath, Dr. S. Chakraborty, and Dr. S. Dhar from various habitats including pineapple, tea, bamboo, and banana plantations, as well as forests and waste deposit sites.

Dr. Dey described how the national level collaboration developed: “In late 2024, Kerala-based earthworm scientists S. Prasanth Narayanan and V. T. Kurien approached Professor Chaudhuri expressing interest in collaborating on species-level identification.”

He added that the team successfully collected fresh samples of Kanchuria tripuraensis, while the identification of Kanchuria priyasankari relied on preserved specimens from Dr. Nath’s original collection.

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“These represent the first discovery of these species in India,” Dr. Dey noted, with results published in the international journal ZOOTAXA on June 13, 2025.

Dr. Dey clarified the naming significance: “Kanchuria tripuraensis incorporates the name of the state where the species was discovered, honoring Tripura’s contribution to this scientific achievement. This species is distinguished by its unique characteristic of having single ventromedian spermathecae in segments 7 and 8, making it easily identifiable from all other known species in the genus.”

According to the researcher, “Kanchuria priyasankari was named as a tribute to Professor Priyasankar Chaudhuri in recognition of his more than 40 years of dedication to earthworm research.”

Dr. Dey explained that this species belongs to the turaensis-species group, which now comprises five species in total, and shows close similarity to K. turaensis but can be differentiated by its smaller body dimensions and distinct spermathecal characteristics.

The discovery has increased the total number of megadrile worm species reported from Tripura State to 38 and Kanchuria species has gone up to 10, according to the official statement, further establishing the region’s significance in India’s biodiversity landscape.