Diversity of earthworms (Clitellata: Oligochaeta) from Serbian side of Šar Mountain.

Abstract

This paper presents the currently known records on the diversity of earthworm fauna on Šar Mountain. The Šar Mt. is located in the south part of Serbia and is a part of the Šar-Pindus Mountain system. The complete list of present taxa of the family Lumbricidae in the researches area was formed by reviewing data from old collections, relevant literary sources and by its own field research in the period from 2019 to 2020. The list comprises 24 taxa, belonging to 10 genera of the family Lumbricidae. The genera with the largest number of the registered taxa are Dendrobaena (7) and Aporrectodea (5), while the genera Bimastos, Eiseniella, Helodrilus, Octodrilus and Octolasion are represented by one taxon. With respect to the zoogeographical analysis, the majority of the recorded taxa belong to the group of peregrine species (12). The endemic species are represented by two taxa and belong to the genera Dendrobaena and Helodrilus. The Balkan endemic subspecies Helodrilus balcanicus plavensis (Karaman, 1972) and illyric Dendrobaena illyrica (Cognetti, 1906), were recorded on new sites from the Šar Mt., that represent the southernmost limits of the geographical range of these species at the moment.