Aeolosomatidae

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.

Aeolosomatidae
Aeolosoma
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Annelida
Class: Polychaeta
Order: incertae sedis
Family: Aeolosomatidae
Beddard, 1895[1]
Genera

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
  1. WoRMS (2015). "Aeolosomatidae Beddard, 1895". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  2. 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.
  3. "Family Aeolosomatidae". Key to Australian Freshwater and Terrestrial Invertebrates. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
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