Albertia vermicularis (Rotifera) parasitic in the earthworm Allolobophora caliginosa

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Abstract
Although the majority of rotifers are free-living, there are many records of rotifers parasitizing both plants and animals (Thompson, 1892; Budde, 1925; Remane, 1929). The most marked development of this parasitic habit is found in the genera Balatro, Drilophaga, Zelinkiella and Albertia. In these forms, with the exception of the genus Zelinkiella, attachment to the host is performed by the mastax. Albertia vermicularis Dujardin (1838) has been recorded as a parasite of the intestine and body cavity of earthworms. This author also found specimens in slugs, but he did not indicate the host species involved in either case. This original description was rather incomplete, and it is the object of this paper to expand it by a description of specimens from Allolobophora caliginosa.