Subterranean aquatic Oligochaeta

1. Aquatic oligochaetes appear to be pre-adapted to live in the subterranean environment. However, in the absence of genuine troglomorphic characters, the stygobiotic status of groundwater oligochaetes can currently be inferred only from their exclusive presence in the subterranean environment. 2. Aquatic oligochaetes constitute a diverse and mostly endemic fauna. Of the more than 100 spec…