Annelid Types | INHS Annelid Collection | Illinois Natural History Survey

The INHS Annelid Collection contains primary types of six leech and one aquatic oligochaete species, listed below.

Hirudinida

Illinobdella alba (M.C. Meyer, 1940) (now =Myzobdella lugubris (Leidy, 1851)) (Hirudinea: Piscicolidae) – INHS Anncoll slide no. 13580 (21)
Illinobdella elongata (M.C. Meyer, 1940) (now =Myzobdella lugubris (Leidy, 1851)) (Hirudinea: Piscicolidae) – INHS Anncoll slide no. 13582 (118)
Illinobdella moorei (M.C. Meyer, 1940) (now=Myzobdella lugubris (Leidy, 1851)) (Hirudinea: Piscicolidae) – INHS Anncoll slide no. 13579 (133)
Illinobdella richardsoni (M.C. Meyer, 1940) (now=Myzobdella lugubris (Leidy, 1851)) (Hirudinea: Piscicolidae) – INHS Anncoll slide no. 13581 (85)
Cystobranchus verrilli (M.C. Meyer, 1940) (Hirudinea: Piscicolidae) – INHS Anncoll slide no. 13578 (152)
Piscicolaria reducta (M.C. Meyer, 1940) (now=Myzobdella reducta (Meyer, 1940)) (Hirudinea: Piscicolidae) – INHS Anncoll slide no. 13583 (150)

Limnodrilus tortilipenis Wetzel, 1987 (Family Naididae, subfamily Tubificinae). Two paratypes of this species are deposited in the INHS Annelid Collection (no accession number); the holotype and one paratype of this species are deposited in the National Museum of Natural History–Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (catalog numbers: holotype-USNM 100439, paratype-USNM 100440).

** Type locality information for annelids first described as new to science from Illinois

Diplocardia communis (Garman, 1888) —”common to the black soils of Illinois prairieland” (no specific locality information was provided with description)
Diplocardia singularis (as Geodrilus singularis) (Ude, 1893) — Danville (Vermilion County)
Diplocardia riparia (Smith, 1895) — near Havana (Mason County)
Diplocardia conoyeri (Murchie, 1961) — St. Clair County

Bimastos zeteki (as Helodrilus (Bimastus) zeteki) (Smith & Gittens, 1915) — woodlands near Urbana (Champaign County)
Bimastos longicinctus (as Helodrilus (Bimastus) longicinctus) (Smith & Gittens, 1915) — lawns and parkings in Urbana (Champaign County)
Bimastos heimburgeri (as Helodrilus (Bimastus) heimburgeri) (Smith, 1928) — banks of small stream flowing into Sangamon River near the town of White Heath (Piatt County)

Sparganophilus eiseni (Smith, 1895) —near Havana (Mason County) (=Sparganophilus tamesis (Benham, 1892) (see Rota et al. 2016))

Henlea moderata (Welch, 1940) — from rich soil under decaying leaves in undisturbed forest land near Urbana (Champaign County)
Henlea urbanensis (Welch, 1940) — from rich soil in undisturbed forest-land near Urbana (Champaign County)
Fridericia oconeensis (Welch, 1940) — under the decaying bark of fallen timber, near Oconee (Shelby County)
Fridericia sima (Welch, 1940) — from under decaying leaves and at a slight depth in the rich, moderately moist humus in undisturbed forest-land near Urbana (Champaign County
Lumbricillus rutilus (Welch, 1940) — from the sprinkling filter beds of the Thirty-ninth Street Sewage Testing Station in Chicago (Cook County)

Haemopis terrestris (Forbes, 1890) — the American terrestrial leech (originally described as Semiscolex terrestris), from a house garden in Normal (McLean County)

Additional species will be posted here soon.

Limnodrilus tortilipenis (Wetzel, 1987) — Dutchman Creek, 2.4 km W Vienna (Johnson County)

** Additional information associated with the oligochaete taxa described as new to science, noting Illinois as their type locality (e.g., publication in which the description was first published, repository(ies), and accession numbers for the types) is presented in their respective accounts as listed in the searchable website, Reynolds, J.W. and M.J. Wetzel. 2025. Nomenclatura Oligochaetologica – A catalogue of names, descriptions and type specimens. Editio Secunda.