Oligochaeta Totally Explained

Everything about Oligochaeta totally explained

ť For the plant genus from the sunflower family (Asteraceae), see Oligochaeta (plant).

Oligochaeta (singular Oligochaete, ) is a subclass in the biological phylum Annelida and includes various earthworms. Specifically, it contains the terrestrial megadrile earthworms (some of which are semi- or fully aquatic), and freshwater or semi-terrestrial microdrile forms including the tubificids, pot worms and ice worms (Enchytraeidae), blackworms (Lumbriculidae) and several interstitial marine worms. These worms usually have few setae (chaetae) or "bristles", and lack a parapodia, unlike polychaeta.

Common characteristics

Oligochaeta are well-segmented annelids and most have a spacious body cavity (coelom) that's used as a hydroskeleton. Their length ranges from a few centimetres up to 2-3 metres such as the Australian native giant Gippsland earthworm. Unlike Polychaetes, Oligochaetes don't 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 for example (Agriodrilus and Phagodrilus).

Life cycle

Earthworms are hermaphrodites, 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), but copulate and store sperm in a receptacle called a spermatheca. Like leeches, they've a clitellum 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 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 convention so that family-group name (ending in -idae) 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 Vejdovsky, 1879
Moniligastridae Claus, 1880
Alluroididae Michaelsen, 1900
Syngenodrilidae Smith and Green, 1919
Glossoscolecidae Michaelsen, 1900
Tumakidae Righi, 1995
Ailoscolecidae Bouché, 1969 (including Komarekionidae Gates, 1974)
Sparganophilidae Michaelsen, 1918
Microchaetidae Michaelsen, 1900
Lumbricidae 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 Vejdovsky, 1884 (including Biwadrilidae Brinkhurst & Jamieson, 1971)
Almidae Duboscq, 1902
Ocnerodrilidae Beddard, 1891 (including Malabariinae Gates, 1966)
Acanthodrilidae Claus, 1880 (including Diplocardiinae Michaelsen, 1900)
Octochaetidae Michaelsen, 1900 (including Benhamiinae Michaelsen, 1895/7)
Exxidae Blakemore, 2000
Megascolecidae Rosa, 1891 (including Pontodrilinae Vejdovsky, 1884; Plutellinae Vejdovsky, 1884 and Argilophilinae Fender & McKey-Fender, 1990)
Eudrilidae 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.

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.Further Information

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