Hoffmeister, 1845
Type species Helodrilus oculatus Hoffmeister, 1845
Number of species 4. Two species known from freshwater of NWE:
Helodrilus oculatus Hoffmeister, 1845
Helodrilus patriarchalis (Rosa, 1893)
Description
Unpigmented earthworms, with closely paired chaetae. Differing from the other lumbricid genera only in the combination of interior anatomical characters. In some earlier periods, many other lumbricid genera were treated as synonyms or subgenera of Helodrilus.
Burrowing in soil and sediment.
Distribution
Western Palaearctic.
Ecology
In freshwater and soil.
Reproduction
Sexual only. Eggs laid in cocoons.
Literature
Hoffmeister, 1845: 38; Omodeo, 1956: 171-172; Perel', 1979: 179; Sims and Gerard, 1985: 93.