Phylogeny and Classification of Aquatic Annelida. The first global compendium of aquatic Oligochaeta was published by Brinkhurst and Jamieson (1971). The section in that book discussing the phylogeny and classification of aquatic oligochaetes set the stage for numerous investigations into the phylogenetic relationships of all annelids. Most noteable are: Jamieson (1978, 1980, 1988), Timm (1981), Brinkhurst (1982, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991a, 1991b, 1991c, 1992, 1994, 1999), Kasprzak (1982, 1984), Kathman and Brinkhurst (1998), Parker (1982), Holt (1986, 1989), Erséus (1987, 1990), Sawyer (1986a, 1986b, 1986c), Brinkhurst and Nemec (1987), Coates (1987, 1989), Nemec and Brinkhurst (1987), Brinkhurst and Gelder (1989), Gelder and Brinkhurst (1990), Purschke et al. (1993), Sima (1993), Sidall and Burreson (1995, 1996, 1998), Bartolomaeus (1997), Trapido-Rosenthal (1997), Omodeo (1998, 2000), Sidall et al. (1998), McHugh (1999, 2000), Purschke (1999), Westheide et al. (1999), Martin et al. (2000). This paper follows the division of the phylum Annelida into two subphyla: the Aclitellata (Aphanoneura and Polychaeta), and the Clitellata (including the Acanthobdellae, Branchiobdellae, Oligochaeta, and Hirudinea). The relationship of the Aphanoneura to the Polychaeta, however, remains unresolved. Nomenclature follows Reynolds and Cook (1976, 1981, 1989, 1992) for Aeolosomatidae and Oligochaeta; Klemm (1985) for Acanthobdellida and Polychaeta; Klemm (1985), Sawyer (1986a,1986b, 1986c), Barta and Sawyer (1990), and Jones and Woo (1990) for Hirudinea; and Holt (1986), Holt and Opell (1993), and Gelder (1996) for Branchiobdellae.

Class Oligochaeta
Superorder Microdrili

Species preceded by a single asterisk (*) were reported by Wetzel (1992) as new records for the state of Illinois. Species preceded by two asterisks (**) indicate new records for the state (published and unpublished) since 1992. Illinois species collected only from inshore Lake Michigan habitats are preceded by a 'plus' sign (+). Known distributions of these species in other North American states and provinces [a project in manuscript, co-edited by Dr. Kathryn A. Coates and M. J. Wetzel; see also Madill et al. 1992] will be included after that document has been posted in electronic form on a separate web page, and a subsequent, more defined manuscript has been published.

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