File:Regenwurm1.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Oligochaeta
Sign in to saveAlso known as oligochaetes, oligochaete worms
Oligochaeta is a subclass of soft-bodied animals in the phylum Annelida, which is made up of many types of aquatic and terrestrial worms, including all of the various earthworms. Specifically, oligochaetes comprise the terrestrial megadrile earthworms (some of which are semiaquatic or fully aquatic), and freshwater or semiterrestrial microdrile forms, including the tubificids, pot worms and ice worms (Enchytraeidae), blackworms (Lumbriculidae) and several interstitial marine worms.
OverviewAI-generated
Oligochaeta is a subclass within the class Clitellata and the phylum Annelida, a taxon established by Grube in 1850. The group, which includes common earthworms, inhabits marine, brackish, and freshwater environments. Its taxonomic status is accepted.
The name Oligochaeta also refers to a genus in the family Asteraceae. This plant genus is native to Afghanistan, India, Iran, Pakistan, Tadzhikistan, Transcaucasus, Turkmenistan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, and Xinjiang.
Records for the animal subclass are held by institutions including YPM, GMNH, and CAS, with occurrences documented in the British Virgin Islands and the United States.
Synthesized by Vinony from 20 facts across 6 sources: Wikidata, PubMed, Plants of the World, WoRMS, iDigBio, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Species
earthworms
Subclass
- PhylumAnnelida
- ClassClitellata
via · Kew POWO
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 10,151
- With media
- 28
- Collections
- YPM, GMNH, CAS
- Recorded in
- British Virgin Islands, United States
Research
7,767 papers- Annotated checklist of the earthworms (Annelida: Clitellata: Oligochaeta) from Hispaniola: a brief review and remarks.Zootaxa · 2025
- A proposed order-level classification in Oligochaeta (Annelida, Clitellata).Zootaxa · 2021
- Stem cell system in asexual and sexual reproduction of Enchytraeus japonensis (Oligochaeta, Annelida).Development, growth & differentiation · 2010
- Enchytraeidae (Annelida: Oligochaeta) from Uzbekistan, with the description of a new species.Zootaxa · 2025
- Earthworm fauna (Oligochaeta: Lumbricidae) of Croatian Pannonian mountains-Papuk and Požeška gora.Zootaxa · 2025
via PubMed
~13 min read
Encyclopedic overview
12 sectionsContents
- Diversity
- Anatomy
- Internal anatomy
- Distribution and habitat
- Locomotion
- Reproduction
- Evolution and taxonomy
- Families
- Notes
- References
- Bibliography
- External links
Oligochaeta is a subclass of soft-bodied animals in the phylum Annelida, which is made up of many types of aquatic and terrestrial worms, including all of the various earthworms. Specifically, oligochaetes comprise the terrestrial megadrile earthworms (some of which are semiaquatic or fully aquatic), and freshwater or semiterrestrial microdrile forms, including the tubificids, pot worms and ice worms (Enchytraeidae), blackworms (Lumbriculidae) and several interstitial marine worms.
With around 10,000 known species, the Oligochaeta make up about half of the phylum Annelida. These worms usually have few setae (chaetae) or "bristles" on their outer body surfaces, and lack parapodia, unlike polychaeta.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Oligochaeta” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.