Naididae

Naididae
Tubifex tubifex
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Annelida
Class: Clitellata
Subclass: Oligochaeta
Order: Haplotaxida
Family: Naididae
Ehrenberg, 1828
Subfamilies

Limnodriloidinae
Naidinae
Phallodrilinae
Pristininae (disputed)
Rhyacodrilinae
Telmatodrilinae
Tubificinae

Synonyms

Tubificidae Vejdovský, 1876

The Naididae (formerly known as Tubificidae) are a family of clitellate oligochaete worms like the sludge worm, Tubifex tubifex. They are key components of the benthic communities of many freshwater and marine ecosystems.

Description

These worms can vary in size, from centimeters to millimeters, depending on the subfamily. They are all hermaphroditic and lack a larval stage.[1]

Taxonomy

Analysis of 18S rDNA sequences has revealed that the family may not be monophyletic.[2] However, the worst paraphyly was corrected with uniting the Naidinae with the other families. This necessitated a change of names under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature rules, as Naididae was now the senior synonym of Tubificidae. It was proposed to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature to suppress Naididae because the "tubificids" are the more well-known group of the two, but that was rejected.[3]

The Naididae family is divided into six subfamilies, arranged here in the presumed phylogenetic sequence:

References

  1. ↑ Brinkhurst, R.O. (1986). Guide to the freshwater aquatic microdrile oligochaetes of North America. Ottawa: Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans. p. 1. ISBN 0-660-11924-2.
  2. ↑ Envall, Ida; Källersjö, Mari; Erséus, Christer (August 2006). "Molecular evidence for the non-monophyletic status of Naidinae (Annelida, Clitellata, Tubificidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 40 (2): 570–584. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.03.021.
  3. ↑ Erseus, Christer; Mark J.Wetzel; Lena Gustavsson (2008). "ICZN rules—a farewell to Tubificidae (Annelida, Clitellata)". Zootaxa 1744: 66–68. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
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