Oligochaeta

(Aquatic Earthworms)

 Photogallery: 

Synonyms: 

1974 Gillard
1978 Cover & Harrel
1979 Harman Loden Davis
1979 McCauley

1980 Davis SCD-PR
1982 Davis
[1982 Klemm GTFA]

notes:

-First Texas Record reported by Harman, Loden & Davis (1979)

-this species is restricted to salt or brackish waters according to Harman, Loden & Davis (1979) but is listed as a freshwater oligochaete by Wetzel et al. (2007). Davis (1982) lists the species as euryhaline, usually in salt or brackish water and primarily a coastal species.  The species has been collected in the Pecos River which is naturally salty with a salinity of 16 - 20 ppt (Gillard 1974)

-the species is a good indicator of saline pollution (Brinkhurst & Cook 1974 in Davis 1982) and tolerates organic pollution, sometimes becoming dominant in heavily polluted estuaries (Learner et al. 1978 in Davis 1982)