Eudrilidae Explained

The Eudrilidae are a family of earthworms, mostly of Africa. One species, Eudrilus eugeniae (Kinberg, 1867), is widely distributed around the warmer parts of the world and historically cultured as the "African nightcrawler".^{[1] [2]}

The male pores of eudrilids are in segment 17, as is also typical of Ocnerodrilidae. Eudrilids differ from the family Megascolecidae and Acanthodrilidae in having euprostates, i.e., a muscular and possibly glandular development of the vasa deferentia (male ducts from testes) that open to the male pores. Eudrilids further differ from megascolecids, and ocnerodrilids in the development of internal fertilisation with the equivalent of the spermathecae opening directly to the ovisacs, allowing sperm to combine with the eggs from the ovaries via a female opening in segment 14.

References

Bibliography

• Sims, R.W. 1967. Earthworms (Acanthodrilidae and Eudrilidae) from Gambia. Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History 16: 1-43.
• Zicsi, A. 1997. Contribution to the knowledge to the earthworm fauna of East Africa (Oligochaeta: Eudrilidae), with description of a new species of Polytoreutus. Revue Suisse de Zoologie. Dec. 104
• Blakemore, R.J. 2013. The major megadrile families of the World reviewed again on their taxonomic types (Annelida: Oligochaeta: Megadrilacea). Opuscula Zoologica Budapest 44(2): 107–127. http://opuscula.elte.hu/opuscula44_2.htm.

Notes and References

1. Rob Blakemore (2008). Vermicology I. Ecological considerations of the earthworms used in vermiculture – a review of the species . A Series of Searchable Texts on Earthworm Biodiversity, Ecology and Systematics from Various Regions of the World . VermEcology.
2. Blakemore (2015). - http://africaninvertebrates.org/ojs/index.php/AI/article/view/395