This list of keys and guides below is simply a suggested list; it is not comprehensive, and there may be taxa included in the test material that are not included in the more general keys.  We expect taxonomists to be aware of recent literature changes, and thus know how to identify the genera even though there may not be any keys. A good taxonomist needs to know how to work in the absence of "keys". While we will attempt to include citations for important primary literature, it is the candidate's responsibility to be familiar with the current status of the group in question.

Suggested Keys and Guides for Group 4 (Annelids)

Hirudinea:

Davies, R.W. 1971. A key to the freshwater Hirudinoidea of Canada.  J. Fish. Res. Board Canada.  28: 543-552.

Klemm, D.J. (ed). 1985a. A guide to the freshwater Annelida (Polychaeta, naidid and tubificid Oligochaeta, and Hirudinea) of North America. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, Dubuque, IA. xiii + 198 pp. [now out of print]

Klemm, D.J. 1995. Identification guide to the freshwater leeches (Annelida: Hirudinea) of Florida and other southern states. Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Surface Water Management, Tallahassee, FL. [This manual is available free, as a pdf document that you can download from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection website, at:
< http://www.dep.state.fl.us/labs/cgi-bin/sbio/keys.asp >; you must scroll down to the listing for this manual, then click on the entry  “Leeches.pdf”’; do not attempt a download if you are using a dial-up internet connection]. [good keys, information, for Floridian spccies that also have distributions elsewhere in North America]

Oligochaeta:

Brinkhurst, R.O. 1986. Guide to the freshwater aquatic microdrile oligochaetes of North America. Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 84. vi + 259 pp. [This guide out of print; now superseded by Kathman and Brinkhurst (1998) (citation provided below)]

Brinkhurst, R.O., and S.R. Gelder. 2001. Annelida: Oligochaeta, including Branchiobdellidae. Pages 431-463, In: J.H. Thorp and A.P. Covich (eds). Ecology and classification of North American freshwater invertebrates. Second Edition. Academic Press, San Diego, CA.

Brinkhurst, R.O., and B.G.M. Jamieson. 1971. Aquatic Oligochaeta of the world. Univ. Toronto Press, Buffalo, New York. 860 pp. [Out of print; a classic reference if you can find a used copy].

Hiltunen, J.K., and D.J. Klemm. 1980. A guide to the Naididae (Annelida: Clitellata: Oligochaeta) of North America. EPA-600/4-80-031. Environmental Monitoring and Support Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH. 48 pp. [now out of print]

Hiltunen, J. K., and D. J. Klemm. 1985. Freshwater Naididae (Annelida: Oligochaeta). Pages 24-43, In: D.J. Klemm (ed). A guide to the freshwater Annelida (Polychaeta, naidid and tubificid Oligochaeta, and Hirudinea) of North America. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co., Dubuque, IA. [now out of print]

Howmiller, R.P., and M.S. Loden. 1976. Identification of Wisconsin Tubificidae and Naididae. Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences Arts and Letters 64:185-197.

Kathman, R.D., and R.O. Brinkhurst. 1998. Guide to the freshwater oligochaetes of North America. Aquatic Resources Center, College Grove, TN. 264 pp. [ USD$55.00 (personal or business check, or money order; no purchase orders or charge card sales); to order, contact Dr. Kathman via E-mail, at: R.DeedeeKathman@state.tn.us, and also rdkathman@ix.netcom.com].

Klemm, D.J. (ed). 1985. A guide to the freshwater Annelida (Polychaeta, naidid and tubificid Oligochaeta, and Hirudinea) of North America. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, Dubuque, IA. xiii + 198 pp. [now out of print]

Klemm, D.J. 1995. Identification guide to the freshwater leeches (Annelida: Hirudinea) of Florida and other southern states. Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Surface Water Management, Tallahassee, FL. [This manual is available free, as a pdf document that you can download from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection website, at: < http://www.dep.state.fl.us/labs/cgi-bin/sbio/keys.asp >; you must scroll down to the listing for this manual, then click on the entry  “Leeches.pdf”’; do not attempt a download if you are using a dial-up internet connection].

Milligan, M.R. 1997. Identification manual for the aquatic Oligochaeta of Florida, Volume I. Freshwater oligochaetes. 187 pp. Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Tallahassee. [This manual is available free, as a pdf document that you can download from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection website, at: < http://www.dep.state.fl.us/labs/cgi-bin/sbio/keys.asp >  Note:  this identification manual was extensively based on the Brinkhurst (1986) guide, and then published one year before Kathman and Brinkhurst (1998), and thus significantly outdated; yet, the information presented in this manual, especially for the freshwater oligochaete fauna occurring in Florida, is still useful; many nomenclatural and systematic changes have occurred since this manual was published].

Stimpson, K.S., D.J. Klemm, and J.K. Hiltunen. 1982. A guide to the freshwater Tubificidae (Annelida: Clitellata: Oligochaeta) of North America. EPA-600/3-82-033 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Monitoring & Support Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH. x + 61 pp.

Strayer, D. 1990. Aquatic Oligochaeta. Pages 373-397, In: B.L. Peckarsky, P.R. Fraissinet, M.A. Penton, and D.J. Conklin, Jr. (eds). Freshwater macroinvertebrates of northeastern North America. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, NY. xi + 442 pp. Paper softcover. ISBN 0-8014-9688-8. 

Wetzel, M.J., S.V. Fend, K.A. Coates, R.D. Kathman, and S.R. Gelder. 2006. Taxonomy, systematics, and ecology of the aquatic Oligochaeta and Branchiobdellidae (Annelida, Clitellata) of North America, with emphasis on the fauna occurring in Florida. A workbook. 1 August 2006. vi + 269 pp. + color plates.  [available from M.J. Wetzel { mjwetzel@illinois.edu}, for $45.00USD, post paid in U.S. (=cost of reproduction, postage)].  [this workbook compliments some of the keys presented in Kathman and Brinkhurst, 1998; numerous updates for families, nomenclature, literature, keys, species accounts, ecology; also first extensive information on the freshwater Enchytraeidae of North America, with keys to genera, and chapter focusing on the megadrile oligochaete species commonly present in aquatic samples]