Vejdovsky, 1879
Type genus Enchytraeus Henle, 1837
Number of species larger than 700. Seven genera with 23 species known from fresh waters of NWE:
Cernosvitoviella atrata (Bretscher, 1903)
Cernosvitoviella goodhui Healy, 1975
Cernosvitoviella immota (Knöllner, 1935)
Cernosvitoviella microtheca Rota and Healy, 1999
Cernosvitoviella minor Dózsa-Farkas, 1990
Cernosvitoviella palustris Healy, 1979
Cernosvitoviella sphaerotheca Healy, 1975
Cognettia glandulosa (Michaelsen, 1889a)
Cognettia sphagnetorum (Vejdovsky, 1878)
Enchytraeus buchholzi Vejdovsky, 1879
Enchytraeus christenseni Dózsa-Farkas, 1992
Henlea nasuta (Eisen, 1878)
Henlea perpusilla Friend, 1911a
Henlea ventriculosa (D'Udekem, 1854)
Lumbricillus fennicus Nurminen, 1964
Lumbricillus lineatus (Müller, 1774)
Lumbricillus rivalis (Levinsen, 1884)
Marionina argentea (Michaelsen, 1889a)
Marionina clavata Nielsen and Christensen, 1961
Marionina riparia Bretscher, 1899
Marionina southerni (Cernosvitov, 1937b)
Mesenchytraeus armatus (Levinsen, 1884)
Mesenchytraeus sanguineus Nielsen and Christensen, 1959
Considerably more species of this family are known from soil only, or from the marine littoral, in NWE. Some of them can also accidentally fall into fresh-water bodies.
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Description
Mostly small or medium-sized oligochaetes, of white, yellowish or reddish colour. Chaetae simple-pointed, either straight or bent but never hair-shaped, in various numbers per bundle. Male ducts plesioporous, testes and male funnels usually in XI, vasa deferentia and male pores in XII; atria usually not developed, but penial bulbs with several additional glands often present at male pores. Ovaria in XII. In asexually reproducing forms, all this set can shift forward by several segments. Spermathecae always in V (but ampullae can reach backward by several segments), with ectal pores dorsally or laterally in 4/5; often communicating with oesophagus by ental duct. The enchytraeids differ from all other small aquatic oligochaetes in their always short, simple-pointed chaetae, usually more than two per bundle; and in the long interval (most often 5 "empty" segments) between spermathecae and other reproductive organs (the latter character shared with the Propappidae). Some species, with paired chaetae (not described in this guide), can be confused with Lumbriculidae or young Lumbricidae, if location of reproductive organs is not taken into account.
Burrowing in sediment.
Distribution
Cosmopolitan.
Ecology
In soil, in marine littoral and in marine, brackish and freshwater.
Reproduction
Mostly sexual only, with eggs laid in cocoons. However, asexual reproduction by architomy (fragmentation) occurring in some species.
Literature
Henle, 1837: 74-90; Vejdovsky, 1879: 50; Vejdovsky, 1884b: 40-42; Nielsen and Christensen, 1959: 26-29; Tynen and Nurminen, 1969: 150-155; Brinkhurst and Jamieson, 1971: 654; Chekanovskaya, 1981: 365-370; Kasprzak, 1986: 11-41, 68-78; Nakamura, 2000: 29-104.