Lake Pedder earthworm

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Lake Pedder earthworm
Status iucn3.1 EX.svg
Extinct  (1972)  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Annelida
Class: Clitellata
Order: Opisthopora
Suborder: Lumbricina
Family: Megascolecidae
Genus: Hypolimnus
Blakemore, 2000
Species:
†H. pedderensis
Binomial name
†Hypolimnus pedderensis
(Jamieson, 1974)
Synonyms

Atlantodrilus pedderensis ( nomen nudum )
Diporochaeta pedderensis (Jamieson, 1974)
Perionychella pedderensis Jamieson, 1974

Hypolimnus pedderensis - Holotype specimen collected in February 1971, The only known specimen of this species in existence. Photographed at Museum of Tasmania Collections and Research Facility, 11 May 2021 Hypolimnus pedderensis Wikipedia.jpg
Hypolimnus pedderensis - Holotype specimen collected in February 1971, The only known specimen of this species in existence. Photographed at Museum of Tasmania Collections and Research Facility, 11 May 2021

The Lake Pedder earthworm (Hypolimnus pedderensis) is an extinct earthworm species in the family Megascolecidae. Its genus Hypolimnus is monotypic.

It was endemic to the Lake Pedder area in Tasmania, Australia, prior to its flooding in 1972 for a hydro-electric power scheme.[ citation needed ]

It is only known from a specimen collected from a Lake Pedder beach in 1971. [2] A 1996 survey failed to find it and it is presumed extinct. [2] [1]

The Lake Pedder earthworm mainly fed on microbes or algae on sand particles. Their feeding habits were seen to have a considerable impact on the banks of the lake, this is because the particles they consumed were deposited on the surface of the ground in the form of castings. As these castings were exposed to air, the soil was aerated, improving both the drainage and water holding capacity of the soil. [3]

Related Research Articles

Lake Pedder

Lake Pedder, once a glacial outwash lake, is a man-made impoundment and diversion lake located in the southwest of Tasmania, Australia. In addition to its natural catchment from the Frankland Range, the lake is formed by the 1972 damming of the Serpentine and Huon rivers by the Hydro Electric Commission of Tasmania for the purposes of hydroelectric power generation.

Giant Gippsland earthworm Species of annelid worm

The giant Gippsland earthworm, Megascolides australis, is one of Australia's 1,000 native earthworm species. It is also commonly known as karmai, taken from the Boonwurrung language.

Pedder galaxias Species of fish

The Pedder galaxias is an Australian freshwater fish. It is considered to be extinct in the wild since 2005 by the EPBC Act, and was originally found only in Lake Pedder in Tasmania.

This article is a list of biological species, subspecies, and evolutionary significant units that are known to have become extinct during the Holocene, the current geologic epoch, ordered by their known or approximate date of disappearance from oldest to most recent.

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References

  1. 1 2 Blakenmore, R.J. (2003). "Hypolimnus pedderensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2003: e.T41254A10424837. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2003.RLTS.T41254A10424837.en . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 Blakenmore, R.J. (2003). "Hypolimnus pedderensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2003: e.T41254A10424837. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2003.RLTS.T41254A10424837.en . Retrieved 13 November 2021. Listed as Extinct (EX v2.1)
  3. ↑ Vos, Rick De (25 September 2019). "Inundation, Extinction and Lacustrine Lives". Cultural Studies Review. 25 (1): 102–118. doi: 10.5130/csr.v25i1.6394 . ISSN   1837-8692.


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