Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 5711 No. 1: 16 Oct. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-10-16
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5711.1.2
Page range: 57-78
Abstract views: 92
PDF downloaded: 5

Contributions to the knowledge of the genus Trichodrilus Claparède (Lumbriculidae, Clitellata) with the description of new groundwater species from Spain

Dpt. Zoology and Animal Cell Biology; University of the Basque Country; Box 644; 48080 Bilbao; Spain.
Arizona; USA.
Annelida Stygobiont oligochaetes lectotype new taxa Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

The freshwater genus Trichodrilus Claparède is a common member of the invertebrate stygofauna (obligate groundwater fauna) of central and southern Europe. This study focuses on some of the smallest representatives of Trichodrilus worms from groundwaters (caves, wells and springs) in Spain. Several populations were still impossible to ascribe to a species, due either to scarcity of individuals or to the lack of clear characters. However, two populations from Itxina karst (Basque Country) are well separated and described as T. benati sp. nov. based on distinct characteristics of the male duct. Another population, from the Ereñozar karst (Bizkaia), is described as T. stygodytes sp. nov. Two of the most widely reported species, T. tenuis Hrabě, 1960 and T. moravicus Hrabě, 1937 are difficult to separate morphologically based on the original descriptions, therefore, we have re-examined and measured the type material. Our study reveals a wide distribution of T. tenuis in the Iberian Peninsula, and the absence of T. moravicus. However, study of the type material of the latter showed two different morphospecies, hence, a lectotype from the Říčka R. (Czech Republic) is proposed for T. moravicus, while the population from Cave Býčí Skála (Czech Republic) is here ascribed to T. stygodytes sp. nov.

 

References

  1. Achurra, A. & Rodriguez, P. (2008) Biodiversity of groundwater oligochaetes from a karst unit in northern Iberian Peninsula: ranking subterranean sites for conservation management. Hydrobiologia, 605, 159–171. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-008-9331-2
  2. Achurra, A., Rodriguez, P. & Reynoldson, T.B. (2015) Is the Cantabrian region of northern Spain a biodiversity hotspot for obligate groundwater fauna? The case of oligochaetes (Annelida, Clitellata). Hydrobiologia, 745, 151–1666. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-014-2101-4
  3. Beddard, F.E. (1908) Note on the occurrence of a species of Phreatothrix (Vejdovsky) in England, and on some points in its structure. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 78, 365–369. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1908.tb01848.x
  4. Beddard, F.E. (1920) XXVIII.–On the genus Trichodrilus, and on a British species of the genus. Journal of Natural History, 6 (32), 227–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222932008632436
  5. Camacho, A.I. & Puch, C. (2021) Ojo Guareña: A Hotspot of Subterranean Biodiversity in Spain. Diversity, 13, 199. https://doi.org/10.3390/d13050199
  6. Claparède, E.R. (1862) Recherches anatomiques sur les Oligochètes. Mémoires de la Société de physique et d’histoire naturelle de Genève, 16, 217–291, pls. 1–4.
  7. Cook, D.G. (1967) Studies on the Lumbriculidae (Oligochaeta) in Britain. Journal of Zoology, 153, 353–368. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1967.tb04068.x
  8. Cook, D.G. (1971) Lumbriculidae. In: Brinkhurst, R.O. & Jamieson, B.G.M. (Eds.), Aquatic Oligochaeta of the World. Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh, pp. 200–285.
  9. Des Chatelliers, M.C., Juget, J., Lafont, M. & Martin, P. (2009) Subterranean aquatic Oligochaeta. Freshwater Biology, 54, 678–690. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.2009.02173.x
  10. Dumnicka, E. (1995) Fauna inhabiting water bodies and experimental containers used for plants decomposition study in a cave. Mémoires de Biospéologie, 22, 17–20.
  11. Dumnicka, E. (2000) Studies of Oligochaeta taxocens in streams, interstitial and cave waters of southern Poland. Acta Zoologica Cracovensis, 43, 339–392.
  12. Dumnicka, E. (2014) Stygobitic oligochaetes (Annelida, Clitellata) in Poland with remarks on their distribution in Central Europe. Subterranean Biology, 24, 15–24. https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.14.7700
  13. Dumnicka, E. & Galas, J. (2017) An overview of stygobiontic invertebrates of Poland based on published data. Subterranean Biology, 23, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.23.11877
  14. Dumnicka, E., Galas, J., Krodkiewska, M. & Pociecha, A. (2020) The diversity of annelids in subterranean waters: a case study from Poland. Knowledge and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems, 421, 16. https://doi.org/10.1051/kmae/2020007
  15. Fauvel, P. (1903) Un nouvel oligochète de puits (Trichodriloides intermedius n.g. n.sp.). Compte Rendu de la Association Française pour l’Avancement des Sciences, 32, 221.
  16. Fend, S.V. & Rodriguez, P. (2024) Two new species of Trichodrilus (Annelida, Clitellata, Lumbriculidae) from Pacific drainages, western USA. Zootaxa, 5551 (1), 141–156. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5551.1.6
  17. Finogenova, N.P. (1973) New species of Oligochaeta from the Caspian Sea. Zoologicheskij Zhurnal, 52, 121–124.
  18. GBIF.org. (2023) Trichodrilus Claparède, 1862. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset, accessed via GBIF.org on 29 March, 2025. https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei
  19. GBIF.org. (2023) Trichodrilus moravicus. Occurrence download. https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 21 December 2023) https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.8hhyre
  20. Giani, N. & Rodriguez, P. (1994) New species of the genus Trichodrilus (Oligochaeta, Lumbriculidae). Zoologica Scripta, 23, 33–41. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1463-6409.1994.tb00371.x
  21. Giani, N., Sambugar, B., Martínez-Ansemil, E., Martin, P. & Schmelz, R. (2011) The groundwater oligochaetes (Annelida, Clitellata) of Slovenia. Subterranean Biology, 9, 85–102. https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.9.2512
  22. Hrabě, S. (1937) Études biospeologiques. V. Contribution à l’étude du genre Trichodrilus (Oligochaeta: Lumbriculidae) et description de deux espèces nouvelles. Bulletin du Musée royal d’Histoire naturelle de Belgique, 13, l–23.
  23. Hrabě, S. (1938) Trichodrilus moravicus und claparedei, neue Lumbriculiden. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 121, 73–85.
  24. Hrabě, S. (1942) Poznamky o zvirene ze studni a pramenu na Slovensku [notes on the fauna of wells and springs in Slovakia]. Sborník Přírodovědeckého klubu, Brno, 24, 23–30.
  25. Hrabě, S. (1954) Trichodrilus macroporophorus n. sp. eine neue Lumbriculiden-Art aus Osterreich. Zoologische Anzeiger, 153, 185–188.
  26. Hrabě, S. (1960) Oligochaeta limicola from the collection of Dr. Husmann. Publications de la Faculté des Sciences de l’Université J.E. Purkynĕ, Brno, 415, 245–277.
  27. Hrabě, S. (1963) Oligochaeta limicola from Slovenija. Bioloski Vestnik, 11, 67–75.
  28. Hrabě, S. (1981) Vodni malostetinatci (Oligochaeta) Ceskoslovenska. Acta Universitatis Carolinae Biologica, Prague, 167 pp.
  29. Juget, J. & des Châtelliers, M. (2001) Taxonomical survey of some stygobiont oligochaetes from the eastern part of France, including description of a new species. Hydrobiologia, 463, 23–28. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0597-5_3
  30. Juget, J. & Dumnicka, E. (1986) Oligochaeta (incl. Aphanoneura) des eaux souterraines continentales. In: Botosaneanu, L. (Ed.), Stygofauna Mundi. A faunistic, distributional, and ecological synthesis of the world fauna inhabiting subterranean waters (including the Marine Interstitial). E.J. BRILL, Leiden, pp. 234–244. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004631977_027
  31. Karaman, S. (1973) Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Oligochaetenfauna des Skadarsees. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 190, 351–358.
  32. Kasprzak, K. (1979) Skąposzczety (Oligochaeta) Pienin. Naididae, Tubificidae, Haplotaxidae, Lumbriculidae, Branchiobdellidae. Fragmenta faunistica, 24, 57–80. https://doi.org/10.3161/00159301FF1979.24.2.057
  33. Martin, P. & Boughrous, A. (2012) Guide taxonomique des oligochètes dulçaquicoles du Maghreb. Vol. 12. Abc Taxa, Brussels, Belgium, 185 pp.
  34. Martin, P., Schmelz, R.M. & Dole-Olivier, M.J. (2015) Groundwater oligochaetes (Annelida, Clitellata) from the Mercantour National Park (France), with the descriptions of one new genus and two new stygobiont species. Zoosystema, 37, 551–569. https://doi.org/10.5252/z2015n4a2
  35. Martin, P., Reynolds, J. & van Haaren, T. (2025) World List of Marine Oligochaeta. Trichodrilus Claparède, 1862. Available from: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=475539 (accessed 8 August 2025)
  36. Michaelsen, W. (1933) Über Höhlen Oligochäten. Mitteilungen über Höhlen und Karstforschung Zeitschrift des Hauptverbandes Deutscher Höhlenforscher, 1, 1–19.
  37. Oliveira, J.T., Pereira, E., Ranalho, M. & País, J. (2009) Mapa Litológico de la Península Ibérica, Baleares y Canarias a escala 1:1.000.000. Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME), Madrid. [unknown pagination]
  38. Popchenko, V.I. (1976) A new species of the genus Trichodrilus (Oligochaeta, Lumbriculidae) from water bodies of Karelia. Zoologicheskii Zhurnal, 55, 139–141.
  39. Rodriguez-Noriega, J. (2013) Patrones de composición físico-química y de distribución de la fauna estigobia en el sistema hidrológico del Monumento Natural de Ojo Guareña, Burgos, España. PhD Universidad Complutense, Madrid. [unknown pagination]
  40. Rodriguez, P. & Giani, N. (1994) A preliminary review of the taxonomic characters of the genus Trichodrilus Claparède (Oligochaeta, Lumbriculidae). Hydrobiologia, 278, 35–51. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00142310
  41. Timm, T. (1979) The Estonian Lumbriculidae. Eesti NSV Teadoste Akadeemia Toimetised, Biologia, 28, 158–171. https://doi.org/10.3176/biol.1979.3.02
  42. Timm, T. & Abarenkov, K. (2025) World distribution of the aquatic Oligochaeta. PlutoF. Occurrence dataset, available from: https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/3015305910 (accessed 28 March 2025)
  43. Wachs, B. (1967) Die Oligochaeten-Fauna der Fliessgewässer unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Beziehungen zwischen der Tubificiden-Besiedlung und dem Substrat. Archiv für Hydrobiologie, 63, 310–386.

How to Cite

Rodríguez, P. & Fend, S. (2025) Contributions to the knowledge of the genus Trichodrilus Claparède (Lumbriculidae, Clitellata) with the description of new groundwater species from Spain. Zootaxa, 5711 (1), 57–78. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5711.1.2