The
annelids (
Annelida, from
Latin , "little ring"), also known as the
ringed worms or
segmented worms, are a large
phylum, with over 17,000
extant species including
ragworms,
earthworms, and
leeches. The species exist in and have adapted to various ecologies through
natural selection; some in marine environments as distinct as
tidal zones and
hydrothermal vents, others in fresh water, and yet others in moist terrestrial environments. The annelids are
bilaterally symmetrical,
triploblastic,
coelomate, invertebrate organisms. They also have
parapodia for locomotion. Most textbooks still use the traditional division into
polychaetes (almost all marine),
oligochaetes (which include earthworms) and
leech-like species. Cladistic research since 1997 has radically changed this scheme, viewing leeches as a sub-group of oligochaetes and oligochaetes as a sub-group of polychaetes. In addition, the
Pogonophora,
Echiura and
Sipuncula, previously regarded as separate phyla, are now regarded as sub-groups of polychaetes. Annelids are considered members of the
Lophotrochozoa, a "super-phylum" of
protostomes that also includes
molluscs,
brachiopods,
flatworms and
nemerteans.