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Subterranean biodiversity of North America and around the globe

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

Blood Worm
Lumbricus rubellus Hoffmeister, 1843

Taxonomy

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Annelida
Class Clitellata
Order Crassiclitellata
Family Lumbricidae
Genus Lumbricus
Species Lumbricus rubellus Hoffmeister, 1843

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class
Troglophile
Realm
Terrestrial

Distribution

Range

Known from eight counties across four states.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Virginia

Counties

Georgia
Bartow, Dade, Walker
Illinois
Carroll, Hardin, Johnson
North Carolina
Macon
Virginia
Bath

Conservation and management

NatureServe

GNR Unranked

G1G2G3G4G5

National ranks

Canada
NNA
United States
NNA

Subnational ranks

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

State and federal status

Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

References

  • 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. & Christiansen, K. 1990. Evolution and zoogeography of the invertebrate cave faunas of the Driftless Area of the upper Mississippi River Valley of Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois, U.S.A. Canadian Journal of Zoology 68: 73–88. doi:10.1139/z90-012
  • 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.
  • 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

Lumbricus rubellus Hoffmeister, 1843. Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-2601. https://cavebiology.org/species/lumbricus-rubellus/ (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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