(Oligochaeta, Tubificidae) in streams of Slovakia (Danube basin)

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Lauterbornia 62: 3-9, D-86424 Dinkelscherben, 2008-05-15
Distribution of Bothrioneurum vejdovskyanum Štolc,
1886 (Oligochaeta, Tubificidae) in streams of Slovakia
(Danube basin)
Ferdinand Šporka and Miroslav Mláka
With 4 figures and 2 tables
Keywords: Bothrioneurum, Tubificidae, Danube, Slovakia, stream, morphology, ecology, faunistics
Schlagwörter:Bothrioneurum, Tubificidae, Donau, Slowakei, Fließgewässer, Morphologie, Ökologie,
Faunistik
New data on the distribution of Bothrioneurum vejdovskyanum, a rare species in streams of
Danube basin, from 21 sampling sites are given. Mature individuals were found in 5 streams.
The revision of the first record of B. vejdovskyanum from an arm in the Slovak stretch of the
Danube showed it as a misidentification.
1 Introduction
Bothrioneurum vejdovskyanum belongs to the rare species of the family Tubificidae.
In Slovakia its occurrence has been recorded only in an arm of the Danube,
the Istragovské rameno arm (Šporka 1998). This record, however, was
based on an erraneous identification which happened because the sample consisted
of two immature individuals of Moraviodrilus pygmaeus that had their
dorsal setae broken off. This has been corrected by obtaining mature individuals
of Bothrioneurum vejdovskyanum. In this paper, data are presented on the
first record and the occurrence of Bothrioneurum vejdovskyanum in streams of
Slovakia, in the catchments of the Danube.
2 Material and methods
Oligochaeta were collected in the framework of the national monitoring program
carried out by the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute since 2004 in order
to assess the ecological state of water in accordance with requirements of
Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC). According its methodical
instructions collecting was excuted as multihabitat sampling from a total area
of 1.25 m 2 . Formerly the Oligochaeta were collected by hand net, dredge or
Zabolocki type grab. For identifying the material was mounted on slides in Canadian
balsam.

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Tab. 1: Oligochaeta at 21 sampling sites (description see table 2) in Slovakia. i = immature, m = mature specimens
Taxon/Number of sampling site 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Bothrioneurum vejdovskyanum Štolc, 1888 i i i i m m i m m i m i i i m m i i i i i
Dero digitata O. F. Müller, 1773 ●
Nais bretscheri Michaelsen, 1899 ● ● ● ● ●
Nais elinguis O. F. Müller, 1773 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Ophidonais serpentina (O. F. Müller, 1773) ●
Stylaria lacustris (Linnaeus, 1767) ● ● ●
Aulodrilus japonicus Yamaguchi, 1953 ●
Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard, 1892 ● ● ● ●
Rhyacodrilus coccineus (Vejdovský, 1879) ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri Claparède, 1862 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Limnodrilus claparedeianus Ratzel, 1868 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Limnodrilus udekemianus Claparède, 1862 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Potamothrix moldaviensis (Vejdovský & Mrázek, 1902) ● ● ● ●
Potamothrix bavaricus (Oschmann, 1913) ● ●
Potamothrix hammoniensis (Michaelsen, 1901) ● ● ● ● ●
Psammoryctides albicola (Michaelsen, 1901) ● ●
Psammoryctides barbatus (Grube, 1861) ● ● ● ● ●
Spirosperma ferox Eisen, 1879 ●
Tubifex tubifex (O. F. Müller, 1774) ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Stylodrilus heringianus Claparède, 1862 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Lumbriculus variegatus (O. F. Müller, 1774) ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Proppapus volki Michaelsen, 1916 ●
Fridericia sp. ● ● ● ● ●
Enchytraeidae gen.sp. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Lumbricillus rivalis Levinsen, 1883 ● ● ●
Eiseniella tetraedra (Savigny, 1826) ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

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3 Results and discussion
We have recorded Bothrioneurum vejdovskyanum at 21 sites in the catchments
of the rivers Morava, Váh, Hron, Ipeľ, Slaná, Bodva, Laborec and Uh, tributaries
of the Danube (Fig. 1, Tab. 2). In 5 localities the mature individuals were
present in mid April, in early May, in the first half of June and in mid October
(Tab. 1). The same period of occurrence of mature individuals is also given by
other authors. As mentioned by Hrabě (1934), Černosvitov found mature individuals
in mid June, Štolc by end of May and Schenková et al. (2006) in May
and June.
Fig. 1: Sampling sites of Bothrioneurum vejdovskyanum in Slovakia. Description see
table 2
Tab. 2: Description of sampling sites and date of sampling. Size of stream according
catchment size: small = 10-100 km 2 , medium = 100-1000 km 2 , large = above 1000 km 2
1. River Morava - Moravský Svätý Ján, (N 48º 34’ 52”, E 16º 56’ 18”) alt. 150 a.s.l., catchment Morava, large river - date of
sampling 14.7.2004, 5.9.2006
2. River Morava – Brodské, (N 48º 41’ 25”, E 16º 59’ 12”) alt.155 a.s.l., catchment Morava, large river - date of sampling
12.10.2006
3. River Malý Dunaj – Jelka, (N 48º 07’ 41”, E 17º 28’ 46”) alt. 120 a.s.l., catchment Váh, large river - date of sampling
4.4.2005
4. Irrigate channel Gabčíkovo -Topoľníky - Kútniky, (N 47º 58’ 13”, E 17º 40’ 24”), alt. 115 a.s.l., Váh, small stream - date of
sampling 13.10.2005
5. River Hron - Kalná nad Hronom, (N 48º 12’ 22”, E 18º 31’ 08”), alt.160 a.s.l, catchment Hron, large river - date of sampling
15.6.2005
6. River Hron - Jur nad Hronom, (N 48º 07’ 46”, E 18º 36’ 34”), alt.145 a.s.l, catchment Hron, large river - date of sampling
9.8.2000, 2.5.2001
7. Side arm - Vozokany Horný meander, (N 48º 01’ 36”, E 18º 40’ 42”), alt.130 a.s.l, catchment Hron, large river - date of
sampling 16.10.2001
8. River Hron - Kamenica, (N 47º 49’ 24”, E 18º 43’ 34”), alt.120 a.s.l, catchment Hron, large river - date of sampling
9.5.2005

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9. River Ipeľ - Kalonda, (N 48º 14’ 15”, E 19º 36’ 01”), alt.165 a.s.l, catchment Ipeľ, large river - date of sampling 9.5.2005,
10.10.2005, 2.5.2006, 2.10.2006
10. River Krivánsky potok - pod Lučencom, (N 48º 19’ 11”, E 19º 41’ 12”), alt.180 a.s.l, catchment Ipeľ, medium river - date
of sampling 20.6.2005
11. River Rimava - Rimavské Janovce, (N 48º 20’ 33”, E 20º 03’ 16”), alt.190 a.s.l, catchment Slaná, medium river - date of
sampling 6.6.2005
12. River Bodva - Hosťovce (Hidvegardo), (N 48º 33’ 47”, E 20º 50’ 58”), alt.180 a.s.l, catchment Bodva, medium river - date
of sampling 11.4.2005
13. River Hornád - Malá Lodina, (N 48º 52’ 51”, E 21º 07’ 40”), alt.260 a.s.l, catchment Hornád, large river - date of sampling
14.4.2005
14. River Hornád - Ždaňa, (N 48º 36’ 40”, E 21º 20’ 16”), alt.175 a.s.l, catchment Hornád, large river - date of sampling
12.4.2005
15. River Laborec - Lastomír, (N 48º 42’ 41”, E 21º 55’ 19”), 105 a.s.l, catchment Laborec, large river - date of sampling
3.5.2004, 19.4.2005
16. Irrigate channel Zálužický kanál pod Šíravou, (N 48º 45’ 46”, E 21º 57’ 53”), alt.110 a.s.l, catchment Laborec, small
stream - date of sampling 19.4.2005
17. River Uh - Pinkovce, (N 48º 36’ 41”, E 22º 10’ 20”), alt.105 a.s.l, catchment Laborec, large river - date of sampling
27.4.2004, 13.4.2005
18. River Uh - mouth, (N 48º 35’ 28”, E 21º 59’ 53”), alt.100 a.s.l, catchment Laborec, large river - date of sampling
13.4.2005
19. River Cirocha - mouth, (N 48º 56’ 25”, E 21º 57’ 07”), alt.155 a.s.l, catchment Laborec, medium river - date of sampling
18.4.2005
20. River Ondava - inflow to reservoir Domaša, (N 49º 07’ 56”, E 21º 38’ 16”), alt.160 a.s.l, catchment Bodrog, medium river
- date of sampling 19.4.2005
21. River Ondava - Nižný Hrušov, (N 48º 48’ 33”, E 21º 45’ 48”), alt.115 a.s.l, Bodrog, catchment Bodrog large river - date of
sampling 27.9.2006
In the Danube basin, B. vejdovskyanum has been recorded up to now in the
Morava river basin just in Czech republic territory (Svratka river near Vranovice;
Dyje river near Dolní Věstonice, Morava river near Kromeříž) by Hrabě
(1935). Recently its occurrence was confirmed by Schenková et al (2006) in the
Rokytná river (the Dyja river basin). In this locality it belonged to the abundant
Oligochaeta, together with Bythonomus lemani. In Slovakia territory as
mentioned in the introduction, it has nor been recorded.
B. vejdovskyanum shows an excellent regeneration ability, which is not
known from other Tubificidae species (Hrabě 1934). Body regeneration is a
prerequisite for asexual reproduction by architomical division. Therefore the
sexual reproduction has just a menial significance. For this reason, mature individuals
are rare and occur only during a short period. As mentioned by Timm
(1997), the mature individuals were not recorded in waters of Estonia and adjacent
countries. This fact considerably complicates the identification.
According to the description of Hrabě (1979), Bothrioneurum vejdovskyanum
is characterized by the presence of coelomocytes in the coelom; according
to our observations, they are indistinct in fixed individuals. On the rounded
protostomium, a distinct sensory pit is developped (Fig. 2). In the dorsal and
ventral bundles it has only bifid crotchets, the upper tooth longer than the lower
one anteriorly, teeth are equally long posteriorly, the hair setae in dorsal
bundles are missing. The IX. or X. segment of the mature individuals bears 4-6
penial setae with a bluntly hooked upper tooth, while the small lower tooth is
split into several denticles (Fig. 3). A spermatheca is missing, its function is
overtaken by the external spermatophore, attached to the body wall and containing
sperm (Fig. 4). Brinkhurst & Jamieson (1971) suggest the term "sperm

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bearer", because the "spermatophore" should be retained for the organized
sperm bundles which characterize other species of Tubificidae (e.g. Tubifex sp.,
Psammoryctides sp.).
Fig. 2: Bothrioneurum vejdovskyanum. Anterior end of body, prostomium with sensory
pit. a: after Hrabě (1981), b: scale 100 µm
Fig. 3: Bothrioneurum vejdovskyanum. Penial setae in segment IX. a: after
Cekanovskaya (1962), b: scale 50 µm

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Fig. 4: Bothrioneurum vejdovskyanum. Segment IX with sperm bearers (external spermatophores).
a: after Cekanovskaya (1962), b: scale 100 µm
Our observations show Bothrioneurum vejdovskyanum to be tolerant to eutrophication
as well as to organic pollution. This conclusion is based on the simultaneous
occurrence with pollution tolerant Oligochaeta, especially Limnodrilus species
and Tubifex tubifex in waters with muddy substratum. L. hoffmeisteri (86 %),
L. claparedeanus (71 %) and T. tubifex (57 %) co-occurred most frequently with B.
vejdovskyanum. The frequency of other Oligochaeta species is given in table 1.
Remarkable is the co-occurrence of B. vejdovskyanum with Branchiura sowerbyi,
which prefers streams with warm water, in Slovakia especially downstream of
cooling water outlets of power stations. Based on our finding and characteristic
of the localities studied, we conclude that B. vejdovskyanum is a species inhabiting
the lowland streams or lower highland streams. Localities of its occurrence
were situated at altitudes of 105-260 m. In a similar altitude (220 m) it was recorded
by Schenková et al. (2006) in the Rokytná river. Here B. vejdovskyanum
preferred shallow river stretches with less fluctuating water level and no shifting
substratum. Our observations also confirm these results. Co-occurrence of
the accompanying species, especially of Tubificidae, also confirms its preference
for muddy substrates.
According to Timm (1997) the genus Bothrioneurum is included into the separate
subfamily Bothrionerinae (Hrabě, 1981), but other authors put it in the

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subfamily Rhyacodrilinae as its representatives have diffuse prostate tissue on
the atria and abundant large coelomocytes. At present the genus Bothrioneurum
includes 6 species: B. vejdovskyanum Štolc, 1886; B. americanum Beddard,
1894; B. iris Beddard, 1901; B. pyrrhum Marcus, 1942; B. brauni Marcus, 1949
and B. schiemeri Timm, 1997. As given by Timm (1997), the genus Bothrioneurum
is one of few Oligochaeta genera, whose representatives are adopted to
warm tropical waters. Among them, only Bothrioneurum vejdovskyanum is
widely distributed in the Holarctis.
References
Brinkhurst, R. O. & B. G. M. Jamieson (1971): Aquatic Oligochaeta of the world.- 860 p., (Oliver
& Boyd) Edinburg
Cekanovskaya, O. V. (1962): Vodnye malostetinkovye cervi fauny SSSR.- Opredeliteli po faune
SSSR, 78, Izdatelstvo Akademii Nauk SSSR, 409 pp., Moskva
European Commission (2000) Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
– Establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy. Brussels, Belgium,
23 October 2000
Hrabě, S. (1934): O nepohlavním rozmnožování nítěnky Bothrioneurum vejdovskýanum Štolz.
[Über die ungeschlechtliche Vermehrung des Bothrioneurum vejdovskýanum Štloc].- Sborník
Klubu Přírodovědného 17: 13-18, Brno
Hrabě, S. (1935): Űber Moraviodrilus pygmaeus n. g. n. sp., Rhyacodrilus falciformis Br., Ilyodrilus
bavaricus Oschm. und Bothrioneurum vejdovskyanum St.- Spisy vydávané Přírodovědeckou
fakultou Masarykovy University, Brno, 209: 1-19, Brno
Hrabě, S. (1981). Vodní máloštětinatci (Oligochaeta) Československa.- Acta Universitatis Carolinae,
Biologica 1-2, 1979: 167 pp., Praha
Schenková, J., J. Helešic & J. Jarkovský (2006): Seasonal dynamics of Bythonomus lemani and
Bothrioneurum vejdovskyanum (Oligochaeta, Annelida) in relation to environmental variables.-
Biologia 61: 517-523, Bratislava
Šporka, F. (1998): The typology of floodplain water bodies of the Middle Danube (Slovakia) on the
basis of the superficial polychaete and oligochaete fauna.- Hydrobiologia 386: 55-62, Dordrecht
Timm, T. (1997): A new species of Bothrioneurum Štolz, 1886 (Oligochaeta: Tubificidae) from
Uganda.- Mitteilungen aus dem Hamburgischen Zoologischen Museum und Institut 94: 27-33,
Hamburg
Address of the authors:
Dr. Ferdinand Šporka, Department Hydrobiology, Institute of Zoology Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Dúbravská cesta 9, SK-84506 Bratislava, Slovakia; email: ferdinand.sporka@savba.sk
Ing. Miroslav Mláka The Slovak Water Management Enterprise, state enterprise Branch Banska
Bystrica, Sladkovicova 31, Banska Bystrica, 974 01, Slovakia; email: miroslav.mlaka@svp.sk
Received: 2008-01-24