All Topics  
Oligochaeta

 
Oligochaeta

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Oligochaeta
 
 
  Topics Oligochaeta Topic Home

For the plant genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 from the sunflower family (Asteraceae
Asteraceae

The family Asteraceae or Compositae is the largest family of flowering plants, in terms of number of species.The name 'Asteraceae' is derived from the type genus Aster , while 'Compositae', an older but still valid name, means composite and refers to the characteristic inflorescence, a special type of pseudanthium found in o...
), see Oligochaeta (plant)
Oligochaeta (plant)

Oligochaeta is a genus of four species of plants in the daisy family Asteraceae. It can be distinguished from other genera by its pollen, and forms the Rhaponticum group of about 40 species along with Rhaponticum , Acroptilon , Callicephalus , Leuzea , Myopordon , and Ochrocephala....
.


Oligochaeta (singular Oligochaete, ) is a subclass
Scientific classification

Biological classification or scientific classification in biology, is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms....
 in the biological phylum
Phylum

A phylum "Phylum" is adopted from the Greek phylai, the clan-based voting groups in Greek city-states. is a taxonomic rank below Kingdom and above Class ....
 Annelida and includes various earthworm
Earthworm

Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. The earthworm is the most known worm in America, and other countries....
s. Specifically, it contains the terrestrial megadrile earthworm
Earthworm

Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. The earthworm is the most known worm in America, and other countries....
s (some of which are semi- or fully aquatic), and freshwater or semi-terrestrial microdrile forms including the tubificid
Tubificidae

The Naididae are a family of clitellate oligochaete worms like the sludge worm, Tubifex tubifex. They are key components of the benthic communities of many freshwater and ocean ecosystems....
s, pot worms and ice worm
Ice worm

Ice worm refers to any of a number of species of worm that live in glacier, such as Mesenchytraeus solifugus, Mesenchytraeus harrimani, Mesenchytraeus kuril, Mesenchytraeus maculatus, and Mesenchytraeus obscurus....
s (Enchytraeidae
Enchytraeidae

The Enchytraeidae are a microdrile oligochaeta family and include both terrestrial species known as potworms that live in highly organic environments and iceworms such as Mesenchytraeus solifugus that live in ice fields....
), blackworms
Lumbriculus variegatus

Lumbriculus variegatus, sometimes known as blackworm , is a type of oligochaete that lives in shallow water marshes, ponds, and swamps, feeding on microorganisms and organic material....
 (Lumbriculidae
Lumbriculidae

The Lumbriculidae are a family of microdrile oligochaetes common in fresh-water environments, including streams, lakes, marshes, wells and ground-water....
) and several interstitial
Interstitial

Interstitial may refer to:* Interstitial program, short television programming which is often shown between movies or other events* Interstitial defect, a crystallographic defect that may be occupied by another atom...
 marine worms.

The Oligochaeta are the second largest group of the Annelida, with 3,100 known species they make up about one third of the phylum.

These worms usually have few seta
Seta

Seta is a biology term derived from the Latin word for "bristle". It refers to a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms....
e (chaetae) or "bristles", and lack a parapodia
Parapodium

Parapodia , singular parapodium, are paired un-jointed lateral outgrowths. They are characteristic of Polychaeta, but they also occur in opisthobranch molluscs....
, unlike polychaeta.

ochaeta are well-segmented annelid
Annelid

The annelids, collectively called Annelida , are a large Scientific classification of animals comprising the segmented worms, with about 15,000 modern species including the well-known earthworms and leeches....
s and most have a spacious body cavity
Body cavity

By the broadest definition, a body cavity is any fluid filled space in a multicellular organism. However, the term usually refers to the space, located between an animal?s outer covering and the outer lining of the gut cavity, where internal organs develop....
 (coelom) that is used as a hydroskeleton.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Oligochaeta'
Start a new discussion about 'Oligochaeta'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


For the plant genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 from the sunflower family (Asteraceae
Asteraceae

The family Asteraceae or Compositae is the largest family of flowering plants, in terms of number of species.The name 'Asteraceae' is derived from the type genus Aster , while 'Compositae', an older but still valid name, means composite and refers to the characteristic inflorescence, a special type of pseudanthium found in o...
), see Oligochaeta (plant)
Oligochaeta (plant)

Oligochaeta is a genus of four species of plants in the daisy family Asteraceae. It can be distinguished from other genera by its pollen, and forms the Rhaponticum group of about 40 species along with Rhaponticum , Acroptilon , Callicephalus , Leuzea , Myopordon , and Ochrocephala....
.


Oligochaeta (singular Oligochaete, ) is a subclass
Scientific classification

Biological classification or scientific classification in biology, is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms....
 in the biological phylum
Phylum

A phylum "Phylum" is adopted from the Greek phylai, the clan-based voting groups in Greek city-states. is a taxonomic rank below Kingdom and above Class ....
 Annelida and includes various earthworm
Earthworm

Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. The earthworm is the most known worm in America, and other countries....
s. Specifically, it contains the terrestrial megadrile earthworm
Earthworm

Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. The earthworm is the most known worm in America, and other countries....
s (some of which are semi- or fully aquatic), and freshwater or semi-terrestrial microdrile forms including the tubificid
Tubificidae

The Naididae are a family of clitellate oligochaete worms like the sludge worm, Tubifex tubifex. They are key components of the benthic communities of many freshwater and ocean ecosystems....
s, pot worms and ice worm
Ice worm

Ice worm refers to any of a number of species of worm that live in glacier, such as Mesenchytraeus solifugus, Mesenchytraeus harrimani, Mesenchytraeus kuril, Mesenchytraeus maculatus, and Mesenchytraeus obscurus....
s (Enchytraeidae
Enchytraeidae

The Enchytraeidae are a microdrile oligochaeta family and include both terrestrial species known as potworms that live in highly organic environments and iceworms such as Mesenchytraeus solifugus that live in ice fields....
), blackworms
Lumbriculus variegatus

Lumbriculus variegatus, sometimes known as blackworm , is a type of oligochaete that lives in shallow water marshes, ponds, and swamps, feeding on microorganisms and organic material....
 (Lumbriculidae
Lumbriculidae

The Lumbriculidae are a family of microdrile oligochaetes common in fresh-water environments, including streams, lakes, marshes, wells and ground-water....
) and several interstitial
Interstitial

Interstitial may refer to:* Interstitial program, short television programming which is often shown between movies or other events* Interstitial defect, a crystallographic defect that may be occupied by another atom...
 marine worms.

The Oligochaeta are the second largest group of the Annelida, with 3,100 known species they make up about one third of the phylum.

These worms usually have few seta
Seta

Seta is a biology term derived from the Latin word for "bristle". It refers to a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms....
e (chaetae) or "bristles", and lack a parapodia
Parapodium

Parapodia , singular parapodium, are paired un-jointed lateral outgrowths. They are characteristic of Polychaeta, but they also occur in opisthobranch molluscs....
, unlike polychaeta.

Common characteristics

Oligochaeta are well-segmented annelid
Annelid

The annelids, collectively called Annelida , are a large Scientific classification of animals comprising the segmented worms, with about 15,000 modern species including the well-known earthworms and leeches....
s and most have a spacious body cavity
Body cavity

By the broadest definition, a body cavity is any fluid filled space in a multicellular organism. However, the term usually refers to the space, located between an animal?s outer covering and the outer lining of the gut cavity, where internal organs develop....
 (coelom) that is used as a hydroskeleton. Their length ranges from centimetres up to 2-3 metres such as the Australian native giant Gippsland earthworm
Giant Gippsland earthworm

The giant Gippsland earthworm, Megascolides australis, is one of Australia's 1,000 native earthworm species. These giant earthworms average at 100 cm long and 2 cm in diameter but can reach 3 m in length....
. Unlike Polychaetes, Oligochaetes do not have parapodia (appendages used for locomotion) or sensory appendages on their prostomium (the most anterior segment of the head). Oligochaetes have four bundles of chaete per segment (two lateral, one lateroventral, and one dorsoventral). Each bundle of chaete consists of 1 to 25 individual chaete. The Oligochaetes can extend or retract their chaete by protractor and retractor muscles. Generally, when the longitudinal muscles of the worm are contracted, the chaete are retracted, and when the circular muscles are contracted, the chaete are extended. Chaete action permits grasping of soil during peristaltic burrowing. Most Oligochaetes are detritus feeders, some genera are predaceous e.g. (Agriodrilus and Phagodrilus).

Life cycle

Earthworms are hermaphrodite
Hermaphrodite

A hermaphrodite is an organism having both male and female reproductive organs. In many species, hermaphroditism is a common part of the life-cycle, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which partners are not separated into distinct male and female types of individual....
s, which means that each animal has both male and female reproductive organs. They have external fertilization (except for some members of the African family Eudrilidae
Eudrilidae

Eudrilid earthworms are African earthworms with one species, Eudrilus eugeniae , widely distributed around the warmer parts of the world and cultured as the "African Night Crawler"....
), but copulate and store sperm
Sperm

The term sperm is derived from the Greek word sperma and refers to the male reproductive Cell . In the types of sexual reproduction known as anisogamy and oogamy, there is a marked difference in the size of the gametes with the smaller one being termed the "male" or sperm cell....
 in a receptacle called a spermatheca
Spermatheca

The spermatheca is an organ of the female reproductive tract in insects, some molluscs, oligochaeta worms and certain other invertebrates and vertebrates....
. Like leech
Leech

Leeches are annelids comprising the subclass Hirudinea. There are fresh water, terrestrial, and marine leeches. Like the Oligochaeta, they share the presence of a clitellum....
es, they have a clitellum
Clitellum

In earthworms and some other annelids, the "clitellum" is a thickened glandular section of the body wall that secretes a viscid sac in which the eggs are deposited....
 which secretes a "cocoon" or capsule into which both eggs and sperm are deposited and acts as an incubator for the embryonic worms. The cocoon is deposited in the soil. On hatching, the young worms resemble small adults and grow continually until they reach maturity. They lack a trochophore
Trochophore

A trochophore is a type of free-swimming planktonic marine larva with several bands of cilia.By moving their cilia rapidly, a water eddy is created....
 larval stage.

Native earthworm species are often eradicated from natural areas as people clear native vegetation and introduced species become more dominant in these disturbed habitats. Introduced earthworms are most common in disturbed environments such as suburban gardens and farmland paddocks.

Families

The following list of Oligochaeta families follows ICZN
ICZN

ICZN may refer to:*International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, an organization*International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, published by that organization...
 convention so that family-group name (ending in -) is followed by authorship and date.
  • Randiellidae Erséus & Strehlow, 1986
  • Tubificidae Vejdovsky, 1884 (including Naidinae Ehrenberg, 1831)
  • Narapidae Righi, 1983
  • Opistocystidae, Cernosvitov 1936
  • Dorydrilidae Cook, 1971
  • Parvidrilidae Erséus, 1999
  • Phreodrilidae Beddard, 1891
  • Propappidae Coates, 1986
  • Haplotaxidae Michaelsen, 1900
  • Tiguassuidae Brinkhurst, 1988
  • Lumbriculidae Vejdovsky, 1884
  • Enchytraeidae
    Enchytraeidae

    The Enchytraeidae are a microdrile oligochaeta family and include both terrestrial species known as potworms that live in highly organic environments and iceworms such as Mesenchytraeus solifugus that live in ice fields....
     Vejdovsky, 1879
  • Moniligastridae Claus, 1880
  • Alluroididae Michaelsen, 1900
  • Syngenodrilidae Smith and Green, 1919
  • Glossoscolecidae
    Glossoscolecidae

    Glossoscolecidae is a large family of earthworms which has native representatives in South and Central America.Main genera:* Andiodrilus* Andiorrhinus...
     Michaelsen, 1900
  • Tumakidae Righi, 1995
  • Ailoscolecidae Bouché, 1969 (including Komarekionidae Gates, 1974)
  • Sparganophilidae Michaelsen, 1918
  • Microchaetidae Michaelsen, 1900
  • Lumbricidae
    Lumbricidae

    The Lumbricidae is a family of earthworms which includes most of the earthworm species well-known to Europeans. About 33 lumbricid species have become naturalized around the world , but the bulk of the species are in Holarctic: from Canada and the United States and throughout Eurasia to Japan ....
     Claus, 1876 (including Diporodrilinae Bouché, 1970; Eiseniinae Omodeo, 1956; Spermophorodrilinae Omodeo & Rota, 1989; Postandrilinae Qiu & Bouché, 1998; Allolobophorinae Kvavadze, 2000 and Helodrilinae Kvavadze, 2000)
  • Kynotidae - Brinkhurst & Jamieson, 1971
  • Hormogastridae Michaelsen, 1900 (including Vignysinae Bouché, 1970 and Xaninae Diaz Cosin et al., 1989)
  • Lutodrilidae McMahan, 1978
  • Criodrilidae
    Criodrilidae

    The family Criodrilidae is represented by genera Criodrilus and Biwadrilus that are limicolous and/or aquatic earthworms endemic to the Palaearctic currently known only from Europe and Japan, respectively....
     Vejdovsky, 1884 (including Biwadrilidae Brinkhurst & Jamieson, 1971)
  • Almidae
    Almidae

    The animal family Almidae includes about six genera of Oligochaeta.A notable peculiarity of some species in this family is a tendency to extensions of the body wall in the vicinity of or including the male pores....
     Duboscq, 1902
  • Ocnerodrilidae Beddard, 1891 (including Malabariinae Gates, 1966)
  • Acanthodrilidae
    Acanthodrilidae

    Acanthodrilidae is an ancient and widely distributed family of earthworms which has native representatives in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, South America and North America....
     Claus, 1880 (including Diplocardiinae Michaelsen, 1900)
  • Octochaetidae Michaelsen, 1900 (including Benhamiinae Michaelsen, 1895/7)
  • Exxidae Blakemore, 2000
  • Megascolecidae
    Megascolecidae

    Megascolecidae is a large Family of earthworms which has native representatives in Australia, New Zealand, Southeast and East Asia, and North America....
     Rosa, 1891 (including Pontodrilinae Vejdovsky, 1884; Plutellinae Vejdovsky, 1884 and Argilophilinae Fender & McKey-Fender, 1990)
  • Eudrilidae
    Eudrilidae

    Eudrilid earthworms are African earthworms with one species, Eudrilus eugeniae , widely distributed around the warmer parts of the world and cultured as the "African Night Crawler"....
     Claus, 1880.


Bibliography

  • Blakemore, R.J. (2005). Whither Octochaetidae? – its family status reviewed. In: Advances in Earthworm Taxonomy II. Eds. A.A. & V.V. Pop. Proceedings IOTM2, Cluj University Press. Romania. Pp. 63-84. http://www.oligochaeta.org/ITOM2/IOTM2.htm.
  • Blakemore, R.J. (2006). Revised Key to Earthworm Families (Ch. 9). In: A Series of Searchable Texts on Earthworm Biodiversity, Ecology and Systematics from Various Regions of the World – 2nd Edition (2006). Eds.: N. Kaneko & M.T. Ito. COE Soil Ecology Research Group, Yokohama National University, Japan. CD-ROM Publication. Website: http://bio-eco.eis.ynu.ac.jp/eng/database/earthworm/.
  • Erséus, C. and Källersjö, M. (2003). 18S rDNA phylogeny of basal groups of Clitellata (Annelida). Zoologica Scripta 33(2): 187-196.
  • Jamieson, B.G.M., Tillier, S., Tillier, A., Justine, J.-L., Ling, E., James, S., McDonald, K. and Hugall, A.F. (2002). Phylogeny of the Megascolecidae and Crassiclitellata (Annelida, Oligochaeta): combined versus partitioned analysis using nuclear (28S) and mitochondrial(12S, 16S) rDNA. Zoosystema 24(4): 707-734.
  • Michaelsen, W. (1900). Das Tierreich 10: Vermes, Oligochaeta. Friedländer & Sohn, Berlin. Pp. xxix+575, figs. 1-13. Online here: http://mail2web.com/cgi-bin/redir.asp?lid=0&newsite=http://www.archive.org/details/oligochaeta10mich.
  • Plisko, J. D. (2006). The Oligochaeta type material housed at the Natal Museum, South Africa. African Invertebrates
    African Invertebrates

    African Invertebrates is an international peer-reviewed Scientific journal that covers the taxonomy, systematics, biogeography, biology, ecology, conservation and palaeontology of Afrotropical invertebrate, whether terrestrial, freshwater or marine....
     47: 57-61.
  • Siddall, M.E., Apakupakul, K, Burreson, E. M., Coates, K. A., Erséus, C, Gelder, S. R., Källersjö, M, & Trapido-Rosenthal, H. (2001). Validating Livanow's Hypothesis: Molecular Data Agree that Leeches, Branchiobdellidans and Acanthobdella peledina form a Monophyletic Group of Oligochaetes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 21: 346-351. http://research.amnh.org/~siddall/pub/livanow.pdf.
  • Stephenson, J. (1930). The Oligochaeta. Clarendon Press, Oxford. Pp. 978.