Aeolosoma
{{Short description|Genus of annelids}}
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| image_caption = Aeolosoma foraging for food
| taxon = Aeolosoma
| authority = Ehrenberg, 1828{{cite WoRMS |author= |year= |title=Aeolosoma Ehrenberg, 1828|id=558774 |access-date=27 April 2018|db=}}
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File:Aeolosoma hemprichi beniaburamimizu.jpg
Aeolosoma is a genus of minute annelid worms, variously attributed either to oligochaetes or polychaetes. Unlike most polychaetes, they reside in freshwater environments in various parts of the world.
Aeolosoma usually reproduce asexually.{{Cite journal |last1=Marescalchi |first1=Ombretta |last2=Gugnali |first2=Andrea |last3=Falconi |first3=Rosanna |date=September 2008 |title=First Report on the Chromosomes of Aeolosoma viride and Aeolosoma hemprichi (Aeolosomatidae; Annelida) |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2108/zsj.25.904 |journal=Zoological Science |volume=25 |issue=9 |pages=904–906 |doi=10.2108/zsj.25.904 |issn=0289-0003 |pmid=19267599 |s2cid=46294461}} This is done by paratomy or Fragmentation (reproduction), when the posterior segments are separated from the parent worm. It starts when the worm reaches a certain number of millimeters (depending on the species).{{cite journal |last1=Falconi |first1=Rosana |last2=Gugnali |first2=Andrea |last3=Zaccanti |first3=Francesco |date=12 May 2015 |title=Quantitative observations on asexual reproduction of Aeolosoma viride (Annelida, Aphanoneura) |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ivb.12087 |journal=Invertebrate Biology |volume=134 |issue=2 |pages=151–161 |doi=10.1111/ivb.12087}} Only one species, Aeolosoma singulare, is known to reproduce sexually.{{Cite journal |last1=Falconi |first1=Rosanna |last2=Renzulli |first2=Tommaso |last3=Zaccanti |first3=Francesco |date=July 2006 |title=Survival and Reproduction in Aeolosoma viride (Annelida, Aphanoneura) |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10750-005-1711-2 |journal=Hydrobiologia |volume=564 |issue=1 |pages=95–99 |doi=10.1007/s10750-005-1711-2 |issn=0018-8158 |s2cid=2477206}}
Aeolosoma feed on microalgae, microorganisms and detritus.{{Cite web |title=Aeolosomatidae data - Encyclopedia of Life |url=https://eol.org/pages/151/data |access-date=2021-04-06 |website=eol.org}} Their mouth acts like a small vacuum cleaner, which helps them suck up their food into their system.{{Cite journal |last=Singer |first=Robert |date=January 1978 |title=Suction-Feeding in Aeolosoma (Annelida) |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3225689 |journal=Transactions of the American Microscopical Society |volume=97 |issue=1 |pages=105–111 |doi=10.2307/3225689 |issn=0003-0023 |jstor=3225689}}
Morphology
Aeolosoma are transparent worms, very thin and of the length of 1.5–2 millimetres, although some can reach up to 5 millimetres. {{Cite web |last=creaturefact |title=Aeolosoma |url=https://creaturefacts.wordpress.com/category/annelids/aeolosoma/ |access-date=2021-04-06 |website=The Occasional Creature Fact |language=en}} Their bodies are transparent and segmented, usually comprising around 17 segments. Each segment, except for the first, consists of bundles of bristle-like structures known as setae or chaetae, which aid in locomotion.{{cite web |title=Aeolosoma |url=https://www.microscopyu.com/gallery-images/aeolosoma |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=MicroscopyU |publisher=Nikon Instruments Inc.}}
The Prostomium (head region) is broader than the subsequent segments and is equipped with ventral cilia that facilitate movement and feeding, Notably, Aeolosoma lacks appendages on the head and parapodia (lateral outgrowths) found in some other annelids. The integument contains pigmented epidermal glands filled with coloured oil droplets, which can be red, yellow, green, or occasionally colourless, giving the worms a distinctive hue.{{cite web |title=Aeolosoma |url=https://www.nies.go.jp/chiiki1/protoz/morpho/oligocha/o-aeolos.htm |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=Protozoa and Microscopic Invertebrates Image Database |publisher=National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), Japan |language=Japanese}}
Aeolosoma exhibits a high capacity for regeneration, with some species capable of regrowing both anterior and posterior segments within a week after amputation.{{cite book |last1=Lin |first1=Andrew |url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK586905/ |title=Planarian Regeneration: Methods and Protocols |last2=Chiu |first2=Yu-Chun |last3=Chen |first3=Jung-Hsien |last4=Chang |first4=Ching-Ho |publisher=Springer |year=2021 |editor1-last=Rink |editor1-first=Jochen C. |series=Methods in Molecular Biology |volume=2219 |pages=429–438 |chapter=Studying Annelida Regeneration in a Novel Model Organism: The Freshwater Aeolosoma viride |access-date=2025-03-26}}
Habitat and Distribution
Aeolosoma species are predominantly found in freshwater environments, including streams, rivers, lakes, and other water bodies rich in organic matter. They inhabit sediments, often residing among aquatic plants and detritus-rich sands. For example, Aeolosoma gertae is commonly found in fish ponds, rivers, lakes, and other freshwater bodies in Bangladesh.{{cite web |title=Aeolosoma gertae |url=https://freshwaterbiodiversity.org.bd/species/aeolosoma-gertae/ |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=Bangladesh Freshwater Biodiversity |publisher=IUCN Bangladesh}}
Geographically, Aeolosoma species have a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring in various regions worldwide. They were discovered in alpine habitats in Europe, specifically near Italy,{{cite journal |last1=Martin |first1=Przemysław |last2=Rota |first2=Elena |year=2020 |title=Aeolosoma species (Annelida, Aeolosomatidae) from alpine habitats in northern Italy, with notes on distribution and ecology |url=https://www.jlimnol.it/index.php/jlimnol/article/view/2148 |journal=Journal of Limnology |volume=79 |issue=3 |pages=2148 |doi=10.4081/jlimnol.2020.2148 |access-date=2025-03-26}} while also occurring in water systems in New York.{{cite journal |last=Mack |first=F.A. |year=1971 |title=Aeolosomatidae (Annelida: Oligochaeta) from Underground Waters in New York |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2425815 |journal=The American Midland Naturalist |volume=85 |issue=1 |pages=219–221 |doi=10.2307/2425815 |jstor=2425815 |access-date=2025-03-26}} Their widespread presence and distribution is attributed to their small size, reproductive strategies, and ability to inhabit diverse environments, including sediments rich in organic matter.
Species
Below is a list of species in the genus Aeolosoma.{{cite web |title=Aeolosoma |url=https://invertebase.org/portal/taxa/index.php?taxon=81316 |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=Invertebase}}
Gallery
File:Малощетинковый червь Aeolosoma поедает частицы ила.webm|Aeolosoma hemprichi Video
File:Aeolosoma under the microscope.jpg|Aeolosoma hemprichi Photo
File:Aeolosoma_under_the_microscope_video.webm|Aeolosoma hemprichi Video
References
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