Opistocystidae
| Opistocystidae | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Opistocystidae | ||||||||||||
| Černosvitov , 1936 |
Opistocystidae is the name of a family in freshwater living oligochaetes (Oligochaeta) in the annelid class of clitellata (Clitellata), in South America , North America and Africa are widespread.
features
The Opistocystidae are small and have a proboscis at the front end and three ciliate appendages of different lengths at the end of their body. The body of the Opistocystidae has four rows of bristles , on the belly in bundles with several forked bristles and on the back in bundles with several hairy bristles with simple tips.
In the annelid worms of the genus Opistocysta , the gonads are located further back than in most other oligochaeta. They are plesioporous, ie from the two sperm funnels in the testicular segment, the two sperm conductors lead to the two male atria in the following segment, where they open outwards via the pair of male genital orifices. The Opistocysta funiculus, which lives in South America and Africa, has a pair of testes in the 21st segment and a pair of ovaries in the 22nd segment as well as paired receptacula seminis which open outward in the 23rd segment. The pair of male genital orifices is located in the 22nd segment, the pair of female genital orifices in the groove between the 22nd and 23rd segments. The sperm cells extend from the 21st to the 22nd, the sacs from the 22nd to the 26th segment. In Opistocysta corderoi , the genital organs are similar, but further forward with the testes in the 14th or 15th segment and the ovaries one behind, where the clitellum begins. The animals can reproduce asexually through architomy.
Distribution, habitat and way of life
The Opistocystidae are common in South America , North America and Africa . They are freshwater inhabitants whose eating habits are hardly known.
Systematics
According to the systematics of Oligochaeta from 1988 by Barrie GM Jamieson , the Opistocystidae belong to the order Tubificida , but based on the work of Erséus and Källersjö from 2004, this taxon is no longer regarded as monophyletic, and the position of the Opistocystidae is therefore unclear.
The Opistocystidae comprise 3 genera with 5 or 6 species :
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Opistocysta Černosvitov, 1936
- Opistocysta flagellum (Leidy, 1880) (New Jersey, Pennsylvania; first unclear description, unclear status)
- Opistocysta funiculus (Cordero, 1948)
- Opistocysta juberthiei Notea, 1983
- Opistocysta serrata Harman, 1970
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Crustipellis Harman & Loden, 1978
- Crustipellis tribranchiata (Harman, 1970) (Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, North Carolina)
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Trieminentia Harman & Loden, 1978
- Trieminentia corderoi (Harman, 1970)
literature
- Leo Černosvitov (1936): Oligochaetes from South America. Systematic position of the Pristina flagellum Leidy. Zoologischer Anzeiger 113, pp. 75-84.
- Walter J. Harman, Michael S. Loden (1978): A re-evaluation of the Opistocystidae (Oligochaeta) with descriptions of two new genera. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 91, pp. 453-462.
- Ralph O. Brinkhurst: Guide to the Freshwater Aquatic Microdrile Oligochaetes of North America. Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 84, Ottawa 1986. pp. 25, 29, 35, 37.
- Barrie GM Jamieson, Marco Ferraguti: Non-leech Clitellata. In: Greg Rouse, Fredrik Pleijel (Eds.): Reproductive Biology and Phylogeny of Annelida. Science Publishers, Enfield (NH) 2006. Chapter 8, pp. 235-392. Opistocystidae p. 296.