Earthworms (Annelida: Oligochaeta, Lumbricidae) of the Kopaonik National Park (Serbia)

Abstract

This paper presents the first list of earthworm fauna of the Kopaonik National Park, a total of 16 taxa, belonging to eight genera of the family Lumbricidae. The genera with the largest number of the registered taxa are Dendrobaena and Lumbricus, while the genera Aporrectodea, Bimastos, Eisenia, Eiseniella, Octodrilus and Octolasion are represented by one species each. Also, the review of zoogeographical types and ecological categories of registered species are presented. Half of the species are peregrine, while the rest are autochthonous. Regarding ecological categories, anecic (2) and endogeic (4) species are more sensitive to high mountain environmental conditions than epigeic (12) species, which are more adapted to such conditions. Overall, our results highlight how little was previously known about the earthworm fauna in this area and emphasize the need for further collecting to better understand the hidden earthworm diversity in Kopaonik NP.