What is "oligochaeta"

Oligochaeta \Ol`i*go*chae"ta\, Oligochaeta \Ol`i*go*ch[ae]"ta\, prop. n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. 'oli`gos little, pl., few + ? hair.] (Zo["o]l.) An order of Annelida which includes the earthworms and related species, including some small freshwater species.

Annelida \An*nel"i*da\, n. pl. [NL. See Annelid.] (Zo["o]l.) A division of the Articulata, having the body formed of numerous rings or annular segments, and without jointed legs. The principal subdivisions are the Ch[ae]topoda, including the Oligoch[ae]ta or earthworms and Polych[ae]ta or marine worms; and the Hirudinea or leeches. See Ch[ae]topoda.

Oligochaeta is a class of animals in the phylum Annelida, which is made up of many types of aquatic and terrestrial worms, and including all of the various earthworms. Specifically, the oligochaetes contain the terrestrial megadrile earthworms (some of which are semiaquatic or fully aquatic), and freshwater or semiterrestrial microdrile forms, including the tubificids, pot worms and ice worms ( Enchytraeidae), blackworms ( Lumbriculidae) and several interstitial marine worms.

With around 10,000 known species, the Oligochaeta make up about half of the phylum Annelida. These worms usually have few setae (chaetae) or "bristles" on their outer body surfaces, and lack parapodia, unlike polychaeta.

Oligochaeta is a genus of Asian plants in the thistle tribe within the sunflower family.

Oligochaeta is native to central, southern, and southwestern Asia. They are annual plants that grow in mountain and steppe habitat.

It is part of the Rhaponticum group in the tribe Cynareae, along with the genera Rhaponticum, Acroptilon, Callicephalus, Leuzea, Myopordon, and Ochrocephala. It can be distinguished from other genera by its pollen.

1. Oligochaeta divaricata - Caucasus, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey
2. Oligochaeta minima - Xinjiang, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Afghanistan
3. Oligochaeta ramosa - Indian Subcontinent
4. Oligochaeta tomentosa - Caucasus, Iran

Oligochaeta leucosmerinx Rech.f. & Köie - Schischkinia albispina (Bunge) Iljin