News/Reports

New Species of Oligochaetes from Kerouard and Anthony Islands : Randy Baker

Posted March 30, 1980 | Categories : 95,96,People,Rare Species,Research,Species List |

Several species new to science of the class Oligochaeta were sampled  in the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii)  by Randy Baker in 1980.  His samples were from the West side of Anthony Island in the mid-intertidal sediment , and on Kerourd Island from near the the south west side of St. James Island.

See the pdf file : Baker 1980 – Oligochaeta Survey

Further references on the results of this  research:
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=476025

http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/z81-200

Phallodrilus tempestatis n.sp., a new marine tubificid (Annelida: Oligochaeta) from British Columbia

H. R. Baker


Canadian Journal of Zoology, 1981, 59(8): 1475-1478, 10.1139/z81-200

Abstract

Phallodrilus tempestatis n.sp., a marine tubificid (Annelida: Oligochaeta) from intertidal habitats of British Columbia, is characterized by frequent extension of one spermathecal ampulla into IX, the broad attachment of the anterior prostate to the atria, and the form and number of penial setae. Phallodrilus tempestatis n.sp. extends the distribution of Phallodrilus to the North Pacific.

Ed. Note: Randy Barker died of a sudden brain embolism before he completed his PhD, He is remembered with the Randy Baker memorial Scholarship at U.Vic. and the naming of three levels of Oligochaete taxonomy  for him. 

Randy had spent a year collecting specimens of Oligochaetes in Belize, but died while on a student field trip in Arizona, before they were described in literature. Some of his draft papers were published posthumously by his colleagues. The Taxonomic community has also honoured him by naming a new Subclass, Order , and Family after him:

See http://taxonomicon.taxonomy.nl/TaxonTree.aspx

     Domain Eukaryota – eukaryotes
           Kingdom Animalia C. Linnaeus, 1758 – animals
             Subkingdom Bilateria (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 – bilaterians
               Branch Protostomia Grobben, 1908 – protostomes
                 Infrakingdom “Lophotrochozoa – lophotrochozoans
                   Superphylum Eutrochozoa
                     Phylum Annelida Lamarck, 1809 – segmented worms
                       Superclass Clitellata
                         Class Oligochaeta – oligochaetes
                           Subclass Randiellata
                             Order Randiellida 
                               Family Randiellidae