Rhynchelmis

Taxobox
name = "Rhynchelmis"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Annelida
classis = Clitellata
subclassis = Oligochaeta
ordo = Lumbriculida
familia = Lumbriculidae
genus = "Rhynchelmis"
genus_authority = Hoffmeister, 1843
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision =
*"Rhynchelmis brachycephala"
*"Rhynchelmis granuensis"
*"Rhynchelmis komareki"
*"Rhynchelmis limosella"
*"Rhynchelmis tetratheca"
*"Rhynchelmis vagensis"
*"Rhynchelmis vejdovskyi"
*"Rhynchelmis alaskana"
*"Rhynchelmis elrodi"
*"Rhynchelmis glandula"
*"Rhynchelmis saxosa"
*"Rhynchelmis gilensis"
*"Rhynchelmis gustafsoni"
*"Rhynchelmis monsserratus"
*"Rhynchelmis rostrata"
*"Rhynchelmis utahensis"
*"Rhynclemis yakimorum"
*"Rhynchelmis alyonae"
*"Rhynchelmis anomala"
*"Rhynchelmis dissimilis"
*"Rhynchelmis minimaris"
*"Rhynchelmis olchoensis"
*"Rhynchelmis paraolchonensis"
*"Rhynchelmis parva"
*"Rhynchelmis shamanensis"
*"Rhynchelmis spermatachaeta"
*"Rhynchelmis aleutensis"
*"Rhynchelmis brooksi"
*"Rhynchelmis malevici"
*"Rhynchelmis orientalis"

"Rhynchelmis" is the genus of 30 species of aquatic oligochaetes from the Northern Hemisphere, with 11 species from North America and 19 from Eurasia. They are part of the family Lumbriculidae, which are among the largest of the microdriles. They are generally defined as having atria in segment X and spermathecae in segment VIII (Fend & Brinkhurst, 2000). The prostomium generally has a proboscis, from which the genus has got its name.

"Rhynchelmis" contains several subgenera, all of which have previously held genus rank: "Rhynchelmoides" with four species, "Sutroa" with six species, and "Pseudorhynchelmis" with nine species. Further, four species - "Rh. aleutensis", "Rh. brooksi", "Rh. malevici" and "Rh. orientalis" - cannot positively be placed in any of the subgenera.

References

* Fend, S. V. & Brinkhurst, R. O. (2000): New species of "Rhynchelmis" (Clitellata, Lumbriculidae), with observations on the Nearctic species. "Hydrobiologia" 428: 1-59.