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

Brandling
Eisenia fetida (Savigny in Cuvier, 1826)

Taxonomy

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Annelida
Class Clitellata
Order Crassiclitellata
Family Lumbricidae
Genus Eisenia
Species Eisenia fetida (Savigny in Cuvier, 1826)

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class
Troglophile
Realm
Terrestrial

Distribution

Range

Known from one county in Kentucky.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Kentucky

Counties

Kentucky
Edmonson

Conservation and management

NatureServe

GNR Unranked

G1G2G3G4G5

National ranks

Canada
NNA
United States
NNA

Subnational ranks

Yukon
SNA Not Applicable
Manitoba
SNA Not Applicable
Northwest Territories
SNA Not Applicable
Ontario
SNA Not Applicable
Newfoundland and Labrador
SNA Not Applicable
Nova Scotia
SNA Not Applicable
Saskatchewan
SNA Not Applicable
New Brunswick
SNA Not Applicable
British Columbia
SNA Not Applicable
Alberta
SNA Not Applicable
Georgia
SNA Not Applicable
Indiana
SNA Not Applicable
Montana
SNA Not Applicable

State and federal status

Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

References

  • Bailey, V. 1933. Cave Life of Kentucky. US Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Biological Survey, Washington, DC, USA. 256 pp.
  • 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.

How to cite this account

Eisenia fetida (Savigny in Cuvier, 1826). Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-2415. https://cavebiology.org/species/eisenia-fetida/ (accessed 7 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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