Rhinodrilus fafner is a presumed extinct giant earthworm of the family Glossoscolecidae. It is only known by the badly preserved holotype discovered in 1912 near Belo Horizonte in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais and described in 1918 by German zoologist Wilhelm Michaelsen (1860–1937) from the National History Museum in Hamburg. The collected individual has is 210 cm, 24 mm in diameter and consists of 600 segments. Along with Amynthas mekongianus (Cognetti, 1922)[3] and Megascolides australis, Rhinodrilus fafner is among the largest known giant earthworms. Rhinodrilus fafner was confined to a small habitat and vanished possibly due to habitat destruction. It was officially declared extinct by the Brazilian Ministry of Environment (MMA) in 2003. However, the rediscoveries of the Giant Palouse earthworm in 2005 and the Brazilian earthworm Fimoscolex sporadochaetus in 2007 created hope that Rhinodrilus fafner may be found again.
| Rhinodrilus fafner | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Annelida |
| Clade: | Pleistoannelida |
| Clade: | Sedentaria |
| Class: | Clitellata |
| Order: | Haplotaxida |
| Family: | Rhinodrilidae |
| Genus: | Rhinodrilus |
| Species: | R. fafner
|
| Binomial name | |
| Rhinodrilus fafner Michaelsen, 1918[2]
| |
References
edit- ^ Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio), Brown, G.G.; Brant, A.; Hernandez Garcia, L.M.; de Oliveira, M.M.; Prado, M.U.; Bartz, M.L.C.; James, S.W. (2023). "Rhinodrilus fafner". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2023: e.T218812277A218812564. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T218812277A218812564.pt. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Michaelsen, W. (1918). Die Lumbriciden mit besonderer Berucksichtigung der bisher als Familie Glossoscolecidae zusammen gefassten Unterfamilien. Zool. Jahrb., Syst., Bd. 41(1–3): 1–398., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/27079910 Archived 9 July 2024 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Blakemore, R.J. et al. (2007a). ""Megascolex (Promegascolex) mekongianus" Cognetti, 1922 – its extent, ecology and allocation to "Amynthas" (Clitellata/Oligochaeta: Megascolecidae)" (PDF). Opuscula Zoologica 36: 19–30. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- John Stephenson (1930): The Oligochaeta. Clarendon Press, Oxford, pp. 978. ISBN 978-3-7682-0750-8
- Fattima M. S. Moreira, José Oswaldo Siqueira, Lijbert Brussaard (2005): Soil Biodiversity in Amazonian and Other Brazilian Ecosystems. CABI. ISBN 1-84593-032-0
- Wilhelm Michaelsen (1918): Die Lumbriciden, mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der bisher als Familie Glossoscolecidae zusammengefaßten Unterfamilien. In: Zoologische Jahrbücher. Vol. 41:1 – 398, Abteilung für Systematik, Geographie und Biologie der Tiere, Gustav Fischer Verlag, Jena.
External links
edit- "Body size range".
- "Oligochaeta (Italian)". Archived from the original on 9 July 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
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