Aeolosomatidae
| Aeolosomatidae | |
|---|---|
| |
| Aeolosoma | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Annelida |
| Class: | Polychaeta |
| Order: | incertae sedis |
| Family: | Aeolosomatidae Beddard, 1895[1] |
| Genera | |
The Aeolosomatidae is a family of very small, aquatic annelid worms, the affinities of which are uncertain other than that they are related to Pomatodrilus.[2] About 30 species have been described in three genera.[3] These worms are known as suction-feeding worms and occupy freshwater habitats.
Ecology
Aeolosomatids feed on microalgae. They place their prostomia over the substrate and create a vacuum, swallowing small particles and their attached algae. They are hermaphrodites, but most reproduction takes place by fragmentation; the hindermost segments become detached from the parent worm and develop into new individuals.[3]
References
- ^ WoRMS (2015). "Aeolosomatidae Beddard, 1895". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- ^ Struck, T.H., Purschke, G. 2005. The sister group relationship of Aeolosomatidae and Potamodrilidae (Annelida: “Polychaeta”) — a molecular phylogenetic approach based on 18S rDNA and cytochrome oxidase I. Zoologischer Anzeiger. 243(4): 281-293.
- ^ a b "Family Aeolosomatidae". Key to Australian Freshwater and Terrestrial Invertebrates. Retrieved 27 October 2017.