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Cave Biology Data Portal
Subterranean biodiversity of North America and around the globe
AnimaliaAnnelidaClitellataCrassiclitellataLumbricidaeAporrectodea

Aporrectodea trapezoides (Duges, 1828)

Taxonomy

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Annelida
Class Clitellata
Order Crassiclitellata
Family Lumbricidae
Genus Aporrectodea
Species Aporrectodea trapezoides (Duges, 1828)

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class
Troglophile
Realm
Terrestrial

Distribution

Range

Known from 10 counties across six states.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia

Counties

Alabama
DeKalb, Marshall
Georgia
Dade, Walker
Illinois
Hardin, Johnson
Kentucky
Edmonson
Tennessee
Grundy, Overton
West Virginia
Pocahontas

Conservation and management

State and federal status

Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

References

  • Barr, T.C., Jr. & Kuehne, R.A. 1971. Ecological studies in the Mammoth Cave system of Kentucky. II. The Ecosystem. Annales de Speleologie 26: 47–96. doi:10.5038/1827-806X.3.1.10
  • Gates, G.E. 1959. Earthworms of North American caves. National Speleological Society Bulletin 21: 77–84.
  • Peck, S.B. & Lewis, J.J. 1978. Zoogeography and evolution of the subterranean invertebrate faunas of Illinois and southeastern Missouri. National Speleological Society Bulletin 40: 39–63.
  • Peck, S.B. 1989. The cave fauna of Alabama. Part I. The terrestrial invertebrates (excluding insects). National Speleological Society Bulletin 51: 11–33.
  • Reeves, W.K. & Reynolds, J.W. 1999. New records of cave-dwelling earthworms (Oligochaeta: Lumbricidae, Megascolecidae and Naididae) and other annelids (Aeolosomatida, Branchiobdellida and Hirudinea) in the southeastern United States, with notes on their ecology. Megadrilogica 7: 65–71.
  • Reeves, W.K., Jensen, J.B. & Ozier, J.C. 2000. New faunal and fungal records from caves in Georgia, USA. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 62: 169–179. https://caves.org/wp-content/uploads/Publications/JCKS/v62/v62n3-Reeves.pdf.
  • Reynolds, J.W. 1994. Earthworms of Alabama (Oligochaeta: Acanthodrilidae, Eudrilidae, Lumbricidae, Megascolecidae, Ocnerodrilidae and Sparganophilidae). Megadrilogica 6: 35–46.
  • Webb, D.W., Taylor, S.J. & Krejca, J.K. 1993. The biological resources of Illinois caves and other subterranean environments. Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois, USA. 143 pp.
  • Zigler, K.S., Niemiller, M.L., Stephen, C.D.R., Ayala, B.N., Milne, M.A., Gladstone, N.S., Engel, A.S., Jensen, J.B., Camp, C.D., Ozier, J.C. & Cressler, A. 2020. Biodiversity from caves and other subterranean habitats of Georgia, USA. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 82: 125–167. doi:10.4311/2019LSC0125

How to cite this account

Aporrectodea trapezoides (Duges, 1828). Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-2199. https://cavebiology.org/species/aporrectodea-trapezoides/ (accessed 6 September 2026).

Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.

Spotted something wrong on this page? Report a correction. Accounts are compiled from many sources and corrections from people who know the group are the most useful email we get.

Cave Biology Data Portal

Species accounts, distributions, and conservation status for the subterranean fauna of North America and around the globe, with resources for the cave and karst research community.

Text and data CC BY 4.0. Images all rights reserved unless stated.

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