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The Naididae (formerly known as Tubificidae) are a family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 of clitellate oligochaete worm
Worm

A worm is a common name given to a diverse group of invertebrate animals that have a long, soft body and no legs. There are hundreds of thousands of species of worms, 2,700 of these are earthworms....
s like the sludge worm, Tubifex tubifex
Tubifex tubifex

File:VasesAaRiverCirca1990.jpgTubifex tubifex, also called the sludge worm, sewage worm, or lime snake; is a species of tubificidae segmented worm that inhabits the sediments of lakes and rivers on several continents....
. They are key components of the benthic communities of many freshwater
Freshwater

Freshwater is a word that refers to bodies of water such as ponds, lakes, rivers and streams containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids....
 and marine
Ocean

An ocean is a major body of Seawater, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a World Ocean that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas....
 ecosystem
Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical factors of the environment....
s.

Analysis of 18S rDNA sequences has revealed that the family may not be monophyletic. However, the worst paraphyly
Paraphyly

In phylogenetics, a group of organisms is said to be paraphyletic if the group contains its most recent common ancestor Common descent but does not contain all the descendants of that ancestor....
 was corrected with uniting the Naidinae with the other families. This necessitated a change of names under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature
International Code of Zoological Nomenclature

The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature is a set of rules in zoology that have one fundamental aim: to provide the maximum universality and continuity in the naming of all animals according to taxonomy judgment....
 rules, as Naididae was now the senior synonym of Tubificidae.






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The Naididae (formerly known as Tubificidae) are a family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 of clitellate oligochaete worm
Worm

A worm is a common name given to a diverse group of invertebrate animals that have a long, soft body and no legs. There are hundreds of thousands of species of worms, 2,700 of these are earthworms....
s like the sludge worm, Tubifex tubifex
Tubifex tubifex

File:VasesAaRiverCirca1990.jpgTubifex tubifex, also called the sludge worm, sewage worm, or lime snake; is a species of tubificidae segmented worm that inhabits the sediments of lakes and rivers on several continents....
. They are key components of the benthic communities of many freshwater
Freshwater

Freshwater is a word that refers to bodies of water such as ponds, lakes, rivers and streams containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids....
 and marine
Ocean

An ocean is a major body of Seawater, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a World Ocean that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas....
 ecosystem
Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical factors of the environment....
s.

Analysis of 18S rDNA sequences has revealed that the family may not be monophyletic. However, the worst paraphyly
Paraphyly

In phylogenetics, a group of organisms is said to be paraphyletic if the group contains its most recent common ancestor Common descent but does not contain all the descendants of that ancestor....
 was corrected with uniting the Naidinae with the other families. This necessitated a change of names under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature
International Code of Zoological Nomenclature

The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature is a set of rules in zoology that have one fundamental aim: to provide the maximum universality and continuity in the naming of all animals according to taxonomy judgment....
 rules, as Naididae was now the senior synonym of Tubificidae. It was proposed to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature
International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature

International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals"....
 to suppress Naididae because the "tubificids" are the more well-known group of the two, but that was rejected.

Naididae is divided into six subfamilies, arranged here in the presumed phylogenetic sequence:
  • Tubificinae, containing (among others) the genus Tubifex
    Tubifex

    Tubifex is a cosmopolitan genus of Tubificidae Annelids that inhabit the sediments of lakes and rivers. There are over ten known species of Tubifex, but the number is not certain, as the species are not easily distinguishable from each other....
  • Naidinae Ehrenberg, 1828
  • Telmatodrilinae Eisen, 1879
  • Limnodriloidinae Erséus, 1982
  • Phallodrilinae Brinkhurst, 1971
  • Pristininae Lastockin, 1921, often included in Naidinae
  • Rhyacodrilinae Hrabe, 1963


Footnotes