Publication details
A brief history of research on potworms (Annelida: Clitellata: Enchytraeidae) of North America
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2014 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | Advances in Earthworm Taxonomy VI (Annelida: Oligochaeta). – Proceedings of the 6th International Oligochaete Taxonomy Meeting (6th IOTM), Palmeira de Faro, Portugal, 22- 25 April, 2013 |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Zoology |
| Keywords | Clitellata; Enchytraeidae; potworm; North America |
| Description | A thorough literature search yielded 123 publications on enchytraeids of North America, published between 1850 and 2013. About one third of all publications have been devoted to only two terrestrial species: Enchytraeus fragmentosus, a species of unknown origin kept in cultures, and Mesenchytraeus solifugus, living on glaciers along the Pacific coast. North American enchytraeids received considerable attention around the turn of the 20th century, peaking in 1911–1920, when 11 taxonomic and faunistic papers were published by P. S. Welch (one coauthored). Few papers were published between 1921 and 1960. The seminal key for European species by Nielsen & Christensen published in 1959 and subsequent advances in enchytraeid taxonomy had little impact. The few more recent species descriptions and records from terrestrial habitats were published by researchers from abroad staying either in Canada or the U.S.A. for a limited period. Reporting species known from Europe and such new to science, they were rarely able to assign specimens to earlier descriptions by American authors. Marine-littoral species received much more attention during this later period, peaking with the work of Kathryn A. Coates (14 papers on marine enchytraeids during 1980–2003, partially with co-authors). In total, almost one quarter of publications dealt with marine enchytraeids, often of the Bermuda Islands in the northwestern Atlantic. Despite a promising start, enchytraeids have remained a little known component of North American fauna. The enchytraeid fauna of large regions of the continent remains completely unexplored. |