plural noun

• A class of annelid worms which includes the earthworms. They have simple setae projecting from each segment and a small head lacking sensory appendages.

  ‘Annelids with a clitellum (a swelling towards the head of the animal, where the gonads are located) are classified in the Clitellata, which is further divided into Hirudinea and Oligochaeta (including the earthworms).’

  More example sentences

  • ‘The phylum Annelida is traditionally divided into three classes: Oligochaeta, Hirudinida, and Polychaeta (marine annelids).’
  • ‘In traditional classification schemes, the Annelida consists of the Polychaeta and the Clitellata (the latter including the Oligochaeta and Hirudinida).’
  • ‘Stewart affectionately describes him as an elderly man - ‘a dabbler, a homebody’ - pottering about observing members of the taxonomic class Oligochaeta as they went about their business.’