Phylum: Annelida (Earthworms, Leeches, Polychaete Worms)
Order: Sipuncula (Peanut worms)
–No subordinate taxa
Class: Clitellata
Subclass: Hirudinea (Leeches)
Order: Arhynchobdellida
Suborder: Hirudiniformes
Family: Hirudinidae (Medicinal leeches)
| Scientific Name | Author/s | Common Name | Last Record | Distribution | Status | Taxon Profile |
|
Hirudobdella antipodium |
(Benham, 1904) | Open Bay Islands' leech | (rediscovered) | Taumaka, Open Bay Islands, New Zealand | Rediscovered | Access |
| Macrobdella sestertia | Whitman, 1886 | New England medicinal leech | (rediscovered) | Eastern USA | Rediscovered | Access |
Order: Rhynchobdellida
–No subordinate taxa
Subclass: Oligochaeta (Earthworms and their allies)
Order: Megadrilaceae
Family: Glossoscolecidae
| Scientific Name | Author/s | Common Name | Last Record | Distribution | Status | Taxon Profile |
| Fimoscolex sporadochaetus | Michaelsen, 1918 | Minhoca-branca, Minhoca, Minhocas | (rediscovered) | Brazil | Rediscovered | Access |
| Rhinodrilus fafner | Michaelsen, 1918 | Giant Brazilian earthworm | 1912 | Minas Gerais state, Brazil | Missing or Extinct | Access |
Family: Megascolecidae (Asian earthworms, Giant earthworms)
| Scientific Name | Author/s | Common Name | Last Record | Distribution | Status | Taxon Profile |
| Amynthas japonicus | (Horst, 1883) | Yamatomimizu | 1823-1829 | "Japan" | Extinct | Access |
| Aporodrilus mortenseni | (Michaelsen, 1924) | - | 1915 | North Island, New Zealand | Missing | Access |
| Driloleirus americanus | Smith, 1897 | Giant Palouse earthworm | (rediscovered) | Idaho & Washington, USA | Rediscovered | Access |
| Driloleirus macelfreshi | (Smith, 1937) | Oregon giant earthworm | (rediscovered) | Oregon, USA | Rediscovered | Access |
| Hypolimnus pedderensis | Jamieson, 1974 | Lake Pedder earthworm | 1971 | Tasmania, Australia | Extinct | Access |
|
Megascolex hendersoni |
Michaelsen, 1907 | - | (rediscovered) | India | Rediscovered | Access |
| Megascolex travancorensis bonaccordensis | Michaelsen, 1913 | - | (rediscovered) | Kerala state, India | Rediscovered | Access |
| Tokea orthostichon | (Schmarda, 1861) | Schmarda's worm | 1854 | North Island, New Zealand | Extinct | Access |
Order: Opisthopora
Family: Acanthodrilidae (incl. Octochaetidae)
| Scientific Name | Author/s | Common Name | Last Record | Distribution | Status | Taxon Profile |
| Maoridrilus felix felix | Blakemore, 2010 | - | 2010 | South Island, New Zealand | Missing | Access |
| Maoridrilus felix vallis | Blakemore, 2010 | - | 2010 | South Island, New Zealand | Missing | Access |
| Octochaetus levis | (Hutton, 1877) | - | c.1876 | South Island, New Zealand | Missing | Access |
| Octochaetus microchaetus | (Benham, 1950) | - | 1876 or before | South Island, New Zealand | Missing | Access |
Class: Polychaeta (Bristle or Polychaete worms, or Polychaetes) [paraphyletic]
Subclass: Echiura
–No subordinate taxa
Subclass: Errantia
Order: Eunicida
Family: Eunicidae (Bloodworms, Palolo worms, Bobbit worms, Decorator worms)
| Scientific Name | Author/s | Common Name | Last Record | Distribution | Status | Taxon Profile |
| Leodice laurillardi | (Quatrefages, 1866) | - | (rediscovered) | Europe | Rediscovered | Access |
Order: Phyllodocida
Family: Hesionidae
| Scientific Name | Author/s | Common Name | Last Record | Distribution | Status | Taxon Profile |
| Oxydromus humesi | (Pettibone, 1961) | - | (rediscovered) | Afro-Europe | Rediscovered | Access |
Family: Phyllodocidae (Paddle worms)
| Scientific Name | Author/s | Common Name | Last Record | Distribution | Status | Taxon Profile |
| Nereiphylla pusilla | Claparède, 1870 | - | (rediscovered) | Sicily, Italy | Rediscovered | Access |
Subclass: Sedentaria
–No subordinate taxa
Superclass: Annelida incertae sedis
–No subordinate taxa
Detailed presentation
Take note that the phylum Annelida is undergoing rapid higher-level revision, and thus the taxonomic presentation here (an idiosyncratic selection based upon WoRMS and Glasby et al., 2025) is necessarily inaccurate:
"Annelida is a large phylum with approximately 20,000 species (Rouse et al. 2022; World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) 2025) and is found in almost every terrestrial and aquatic habitat on Earth. For most of the last 170 years, Annelida have been divided into three majorclasses, Polychaeta (bristleworms), Oligochaeta (earthworms and allies) and Hirudinea (leeches). A fourth class, Archiannelida, containing a mix of minute polychaete-like annelids (Hermans 1969), now known to be unrelated, was rejected long ago by Fauchald (1977) but not finally abandoned until recent more taxon-specific phylogenomic studies firmly established their links with polychaete families containing large-bodied species (Andrade et al. 2015, and references therein). During the last century, Oligochaeta and Hirudinea were relegated to subclasses under class Clitellata Michaelsen, 1919 in recognition of a majorshared reproductive feature, the clitellum. Today, largely as a result of molecular studies, Clitellata is known to be deeply embedded within Polychaeta, which also includes the former phyla Sipuncula, Echiura, Pogonophora, and Vestimentifera (= Siboglinidae), meaning that ‘Polychaeta’ and ‘Annelida’ are almost one and the same concepts (Rouse et al. 2022, and references therein)."
Source: Glasby, Christopher J. et al. (2025). ANNiKEY Linear – diagnoses, descriptions, and a single-access identification key to Annelida family-level taxa. ZooKeys 1247: 217-403. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1247.137606
Order: Sipuncula (Peanut worms)
Family: Antillesomatidae
–No subordinate taxa
Family: Aspidosiphonidae
–No subordinate taxa
Family: Golfingiidae
–No subordinate taxa
Family: Phascolosomatidae
–No subordinate taxa
Family: Siphonosomatidae
–No subordinate taxa
Family: Sipunculidae
–No subordinate taxa
Class: Clitellata
Subclass: Hirudinea (Leeches)
Order: Arhynchobdellida
Family: Americobdellidae
–No subordinate taxa
Family: Cyclobdellidae
–No subordinate taxa
Family: Cylicobdellidae
–No subordinate taxa
Family: Erpobdellidae
–No subordinate taxa
Family: Gastrostomobdellidae
–No subordinate taxa
Family: Orobdellidae
–No subordinate taxa
Family: Salifidae
–No subordinate taxa
Suborder: Hirudiniformes
Family: Haemadipsidae
–No subordinate taxa
Family: Haemopidae
–No subordinate taxa
Family: Hirudinidae (Medicinal leeches)
| Scientific Name | Author/s | Common Name | Last Record | Distribution | Status | Taxon Profile |
|
Hirudobdella antipodium |
(Benham, 1904) | Open Bay Islands' leech | (rediscovered) | Taumaka, Open Bay Islands, New Zealand | Rediscovered | Access |
| Macrobdella sestertia | Whitman, 1886 | New England medicinal leech | (rediscovered) | Eastern USA | Rediscovered | Access |
Family: Praobdellidae
–No subordinate taxa
Family: Semiscolecidae
–No subordinate taxa
Family: Xerobdellidae
–No subordinate taxa
Order: Rhynchobdellida
Family: Glossiphoniidae
–No subordinate taxa
Family: Ozobranchidae
–No subordinate taxa
Family: Piscicolidae
–No subordinate taxa
Subclass: Oligochaeta (Earthworms and their allies)
Superorder: Megadrili (Megadriles, including Earthworms)
Order: Megadrilaceae
Family: Glossoscolecidae
| Scientific Name | Author/s | Common Name | Last Record | Distribution | Status | Taxon Profile |
| Fimoscolex sporadochaetus | Michaelsen, 1918 | Minhoca-branca, Minhoca, Minhocas | (rediscovered) | Brazil | Rediscovered | Access |
| Rhinodrilus fafner | Michaelsen, 1918 | Giant Brazilian earthworm | 1912 | Minas Gerais state, Brazil | Missing or Extinct | Access |
Family: Megascolecidae (Asian earthworms, Giant earthworms)
| Scientific Name | Author/s | Common Name | Last Record | Distribution | Status | Taxon Profile |
| Amynthas japonicus | (Horst, 1883) | Yamatomimizu | 1823-1829 | "Japan" | Extinct | Access |
| Aporodrilus mortenseni | (Michaelsen, 1924) | - | 1915 | North Island, New Zealand | Missing | Access |
| Driloleirus americanus | Smith, 1897 | Giant Palouse earthworm | (rediscovered) | Idaho & Washington, USA | Rediscovered | Access |
| Driloleirus macelfreshi | (Smith, 1937) | Oregon giant earthworm | (rediscovered) | Oregon, USA | Rediscovered | Access |
| Hypolimnus pedderensis | Jamieson, 1974 | Lake Pedder earthworm | 1971 | Tasmania, Australia | Extinct | Access |
|
Megascolex hendersoni |
Michaelsen, 1907 | - | (rediscovered) | India | Rediscovered | Access |
| Megascolex travancorensis bonaccordensis | Michaelsen, 1913 | - | (rediscovered) | Kerala state, India | Rediscovered | Access |
| Tokea orthostichon | (Schmarda, 1861) | Schmarda's worm | 1854 | North Island, New Zealand | Extinct | Access |
Order: Opisthopora
Family: Acanthodrilidae (incl. Octochaetidae)
| Scientific Name | Author/s | Common Name | Last Record | Distribution | Status | Taxon Profile |
| Maoridrilus felix felix | Blakemore, 2010 | - | 2010 | South Island, New Zealand | Missing | Access |
| Maoridrilus felix vallis | Blakemore, 2010 | - | 2010 | South Island, New Zealand | Missing | Access |
| Octochaetus levis | (Hutton, 1877) | - | c.1876 | South Island, New Zealand | Missing | Access |
| Octochaetus microchaetus | (Benham, 1950) | - | 1876 or before | South Island, New Zealand | Missing | Access |
Superorder: Microdrili (Microdriles)
–No subordinate taxa
Class: Polychaeta (Bristle or Polychaete worms, or Polychaetes) [paraphyletic]
Subclass: Echiura
Order: Echiuroidea
–No subordinate taxa
Subclass: Errantia
Order: Amphinomida
–No subordinate taxa
Order: Eunicida
Family: Eunicidae (Bloodworms, Palolo worms, Bobbit worms, Decorator worms)
| Scientific Name | Author/s | Common Name | Last Record | Distribution | Status | Taxon Profile |
| Leodice laurillardi | (Quatrefages, 1866) | - | (rediscovered) | Europe | Rediscovered | Access |
Order: Phyllodocida
Family: Hesionidae
| Scientific Name | Author/s | Common Name | Last Record | Distribution | Status | Taxon Profile |
| Oxydromus humesi | (Pettibone, 1961) | - | (rediscovered) | Afro-Europe | Rediscovered | Access |
Family: Phyllodocidae (Paddle worms)
| Scientific Name | Author/s | Common Name | Last Record | Distribution | Status | Taxon Profile |
| Nereiphylla pusilla | Claparède, 1870 | - | (rediscovered) | Sicily, Italy | Rediscovered | Access |
Subclass: Sedentaria
–No subordinate taxa
Superclass: Annelida incertae sedis
–No subordinate taxa
Statistics
| Conservation status | Number of taxa (in percentage) |
| Extinct | 3 (15.79%) |
| Missing | 5 (26.31%) |
| Extinct in the Wild | 0 |
| Possibly Extinct in the Wild | 0 |
| Globally Rediscovered | 10 (52.64%) |
| Rediscovered in the Wild | 0 |
| Reintroduced | 0 |
| Hypothetical | 0 |
| Invalid | 0 |
| Erroneously listed | 0 |
| Uncertain status | 1 (5.26%) |
| Total | 19 |