Sci Vis 18 (1), 01—10 (2018) Available at www.sciencevision.org OPEN ACCESS Research Review Oligochaete taxonomy – The rise of earthworm DNA barcode in India H. Lalthanzara1*, Ruth Lalfelpuii1, C. Zothansanga1, M. Vabeiryureilai2, N. Senthil Kumar2, G. Gurusubramanium3 1Department of Zoology, Pachhunga University College, Aizawl 796001, India 2Department of Biotechnology, 3Department of Zoology, Mizoram University, Tanhril 796004, India Oligochaeta is a class of segmented worms under the phylum Annelida that are characterised Received 01 December 2017 Accepted 14 December 2017 by the presence of tiny setae in each body segment. Earthworms are the main members, consisting of approximately 6200 species. Their ecological importance is well known as they *For correspondence : are the major soil macro-fauna; Aristotle had named them as “the intestines of soil”. Classifi- [email protected] cation of earthworms is a controversial issue since the introduction of modern taxonomical system on earthworm by Michaelsen in 1921. This is mainly because conventional identifica- tion using morphological and anatomical characters are complicated and confusing. The key diagnostic features such as the position and structure of the reproductive organs, clitellum and the associated tubercular pubertatis are not always reliable, particularly in different de- velopmental stages, especially when the available specimens are the juveniles. DNA barcod- ing has offered a potential solution, even at the levels of identifying the juveniles or cocoons. Several genes including mitochondrial cytochrome-c oxidase I, 16S, 18S and 28S ribosomal RNAs, and protein-coding histone H3 genes have been introduced in the taxonomy and phy- logeny of earthworm. It is anticipated that DNA barcoding will help conflicting taxonomy and further exploration of species diversity in India. 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