Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
THE SOIL FAUNA: ANTHROPODS
A legion of animal life forms inhabit the world of the soil. A summary of this diverse
and arcane assemblage, from single-celled protozoa to vertebrates, is given below but
a description of all these groups is neither necessary nor appropriate here; this has been
given by several authors. Instead, certain groups have been selected whose natural his-
tory has been especially illuminated by observation and insight. The following essays
make no attempt at uniformity of treatment; indeed quite the reverse: the groups have
been selected largely to highlight different aspects of soil biology. To provide some lo-
gical structure in treatment, however, this chapter deals with the arthropods - all those
animals with an external skeleton and jointed limbs - while the next chapter rounds up
with an assortment of other groups ranging from earthworms to moles. The following
list is an overview of the soil fauna. The groups in italics are those not found in British
soils; groups in bold are those described in the following two chapters:
P
ROTOZOA
Platyhelminthes
flatworms
Rotifera
rotifers or wheel animalcules
Gastrotricha
hairy backs
Nemertini
land nemerteans
Nematoda
eelworms
earthworms
(Lumbricidae), potworms (Enchytraeidae),
leeches (Hirudinea)
Annelida
Mollusca
snails
and
slugs
A
RTHROPODA
Onychophora
Peripatus
Tardigrada
bear animalcules
woodlice
(Oniscoidea), terrestrial sand-hoppers (Amphipoda,
one British species)
Crustacea
