The annelids (segmented worms), are animals that comprise the phylum Annelida. The phylum contains over 22,000 extant species, including ragworms, earthworms and leeches.
The basic annelid form consists of multiple segments. Each segment has the same sets of organs and, in most polychaetes, has a pair of parapodia that many species use for locomotion.
No single feature distinguishes Annelids from other invertebrate phyla, but they have a distinctive combination of features. Their bodies are long, with segments that are divided externally by shallow ring-like constrictions called annuli and internally by septa (“partitions”) at the same points, although in some species the septa are incomplete and in a few cases missing. Most of the segments contain the same sets of organs, although sharing a common gut, circulatory system and nervous system makes them inter-dependent. Their bodies are covered by a cuticle (outer covering) that does not contain cells but is secreted by cells in the skin underneath, is made of tough but flexible collagen and does not molt, in contrast to other arthropods that have cuticles are made of the more rigid α-chitin and molt until the arthropods reach their full size. Most annelids have closed circulatory systems, where the blood makes its entire circuit via blood vessels.
Source: Wikipedia
Subclass Oligochaeta
Crassiclitellata IMG_5224 (Sumaco, Ecuador)
Oligochaeta 0F1A9463 (Sarawak, Malaysia)
Family Haemadipsidae
Haemadipsa picta (Sabah, Malaysia)
Family Salifidae
Mimobdella buettikoferi (Kinabalu Giant Red Leech) (Sarawak, Malaysia)
