Aquatic microdrile oligochaete fauna (Annelida, Clitellata) in paddy fields of Japan

Abstract

Forty taxa of aquatic microdrile oligochaetes (Annelida, Clitellata) that belong to three families were recorded in inundated rice paddies in Japan on the basis of faunistic survey in 81 localities. To our knowledge, three naidine species, Bratislavia dadayi, Dero nivea, and Aulophorus hymanae, are new to Japan. The oligochaete assemblages primarily consisted of widely distributed and thermophile species and were often dominated by desiccation-tolerant species such as Aulodrilus limnobius, Bothrioneurum vejdovskyanum, and Branchiura sowerbyi. The faunal characteristics have been discussed in relation to rice paddy environments.