Little is known about the diversity, ecology, distribution and habitats of earthworm populations in Bulgaria. In the presentstudy an attempt has been made to collect all scientific works on earthworm species (Lumbricidae) of Bulgaria. Thecomplete list of earthworm taxa of Bulgaria comprises 50 species and subspecies of Lumbricidae, belonging to 15 genera.For the first time, comprehensive information on distribution and habitats of all lumbricids in the country is given. Thepaper is useful for further monitoring studies of earthworm diversity and abundance in relation to environmental issues, land use and climate change.
A list of the endemic earthworms of the Balkan Peninsula is presented. Comprehensive information on the ecology, distribution on the Balkan Peninsula and zoogeographical type of all endemics is given. The list comprises 90 species and subspecies, belonging to 11 genera of the family Lumbricidae. The largest number of the Balkan endemic earthworms belongs to a narrow range group (63.3%). Broad range endemic species take part with 36.7%. Our study shows that the degree of endemism on the Balkan Peninsula is extremely high (about 40%) suggesting an important process of autochthonous speciation on the Balkan Peninsula. This appearance is attributable to relative isolation of the mountains compared to the lowlands within the context of paleoenvironmental changes.
The current study deals with earthworm biodiversity of Adana Province. Identification was made by examining the earthworm specimens collected in 6 different localities. At the end of the study, 5 species belonging to 3 genus were found: Allolobophora chlorotica (Savigny, 1826), Aporrectodea caliginosa (Savigny, 1826), Aporrectodea rosea (Savigny, 1826), Aporrectodea trapezoides (Dugès, 1828) and Octodrilus transpadanus (Rosa, 1884).
This paper presents the combined list of earthworms from Turkey and its neighbouring countries: Syria, Iran, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Greece and Bulgaria. Turkey has one of the richest earthworm biodiversities among the Eurasian countries. Its interesting geographic position on the conjunction of three continents (Asia, Europe and Africa) and the close proximity of three different biodiversity hotspots (Caucasus, Mediterranean and Iran-Anatolia) are the primary influence on the large number species as well as the different climatic conditions and major biogeographical barriers in the country. Till now 83 species and subspecies has been recorded and the earthworms of Turkey is characterized by the highest rate of endemism in the region (30 taxa = 36.14%). Taking into account the whole dataset (autochtonous + peregrine species) Turkish earthworms shows strong similarity to the fauna of Georgia (34 taxa = 40.96%) and Greece (32 taxa = 38.55%).
Strandja or Strandha in Bulgarian and Yıldız or Istranca in Turkish is a mountain massif in southeastern Bulgaria and the European part of Turkey. The mountain is situated in the southeastern part of the Balkans between the plains of Thrace to the west, the lowlands near Burgas to the north, and the Black Sea to the east. Its highest peak is Mahya Dağı (1031 m a.s.l.) in Turkey, while the highest point on Bulgarian territory is Golyamo Gradishte (710 m a.s.l.). The total area of the massif is approximately 10,000 km 2 . Central and southern parts of the mountain are in Turkish territory, which comprises two-thirds of the area. Bosna Hill, which is part of Yıldız (Strandja) Mountain, and the northern parts of the massif are situated in Bulgaria. The climate of the area is considerably influenced by the Black Sea and is predominantly humid continental in the mountains and humid subtropical on the coast.Exploration of earthworm fauna of the Bulgarian part of Yıldız (Strandja) Mountain was begun by Černosvitov (1934). His work was continued by Plisko (1963) and Mihailova (1968). Recently, Uzunov (2010) and Szederjesi (2013) published new data from the region. The Turkish part of the mountain remains almost unexplored; only limited data have been registered by Szederjesi et al. (2014).The aim of the paper is to present new data on the earthworm fauna of Yıldız (Strandja) Mountain and to establish the first list of lumbricid biodiversity by analyzing the newly reported species together with literature data.Investigations were carried out during 3 different periods: September 2015, December 2015, and April 2016. Earthworms were collected using the diluted formaldehyde method (Raw, 1959), complemented with digging and hand-sorting. The combination of both methods creates a more complete sampling of species than the formalin method alone, which is not efficient in collecting species living in horizontal burrows. The specimens were killed in 70% ethanol and temporarily fixed in 4% formalin solution. After fixation in the formalin solution, they were transferred to 95% ethanol and finally into 75% ethanol.
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