Ratzel, 1868
Description
Medium-sized smooth red worms. All chaetae as bifid crotchets. Anterior chaetae 5-10 per bundle, 60-135 µm long, with slightly longer upper tooth in the first segments but with gradually levelling teeth already before genital region. Penial sheaths 20-48 times (exceptionally less) as long as their proximal width, considerably longer than body diameter. Dark chloragogen tissue on oesophagus beginning from V. Length 20-60 mm, segment number 50-120. Immature specimens can be easily confused with those of much more abundant Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri, when one does not study teeth length of foremost chaetae. When mature, Limnodrilus claparedeanus can be distinguished by its extremely long but thin-walled penial sheaths. In the other species with similar long penial sheaths, Limnodrilus cervix and Limnodrilus maumeensis, penial sheaths have very thick wall.
Burrowing in sediment.
Distribution
Cosmopolitan.
Ecology
In freshwater. Often accompanying Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri but less numerous; higher abundance has been observed in southern Europe.
Reproduction
Sexual only. Eggs laid in elongated cocoons covered with adhering foreign particles. Can produce several generations a year.
Literature
Ratzel, 1868: 590, Pl. XLII Fig. 24; Bretscher, 1901: 204, Pl. XIV Figs 2-3; Brinkhurst and Jamieson, 1971: 468-470, Fig. 8.3Q-R; Chekanovskaya, 1981: 318-319, Fig. 153E; Hrabe, 1981: 98, Pl. 12 Figs 12, 20-21; Kasprzak, 1981: 178, Figs 691-701.