Rhynchelmis

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
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Annelida
Class:	Clitellata
Subclass:	Oligochaeta
Order:	Lumbriculida
Family:	Lumbriculidae
Genus:	Rhynchelmis Hoffmeister, 1843
Species
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 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.