Microscolex phosphoreus (Dugès, 1837)

Lumbricus phosphoreus Dugès, 1837: 17 .

Microscolex phosphoreus: Michalis 1975: 202, 1976: 154, 1993: 18; SZederjesi 2015: 149.

Habitat. Cave and gardens (Šapkarev 1986).

Distribution on the Balkans and Anatolia. Greece (Efkapia, Kilkis: Michalis 1993; South Aegean: Mt. Zas, Filoti: Szederjesi, 2015); Serbia (Peečenjevci, Leskovac: Šapkarev, 1986); Turkey (İstanbul: Omodeo 1952; Hatay: Csuzdi et al. 2007; Diyarbakır: Pavlíček et al. 2010).

World distribution. M. phosphoreus is a synanthropic species and possibly native to South America, south of the Tropic of Capricorn, but it has been spread to North and Central America, Africa, Asia, Australasia and Europe (Blakemore 2002, Omodeo 1952, Sims & Gerard 1999). It has been found in Poland, and in central Hungary it was able to survive outdoor winter temperatures of -20°C (Csuzdi 1986).