Family Tobrilidae

Revised 11/03/21

Tobrilina

Tobriloidea

Tobrilidae De Coninck, 1965

Most species of the family Tobrilidae inhabit bodies of freshwater. They are much less common in brackish water habitats..
Sometimes, they are found in moist soil, particularly in the tropical regions of the world.
The family is recorded from all inland water bodies of the world, including a record in Antarctica ( Eutobrilus antarcticus Tsalolikhin, 1981).
Lake Baikal has a very high species diversity of endemic Tobrilidae.
Most species are assumed to be predators or omnivores; some feed on diatom algae and the genus Paratrilobus has been observed feeding on oligocheates.
Body lengths of 1 to 9 mm are reported in the family with most species between 1.5 and 2.5 mm.

Ref Holovachov and Shoshin (2014),

Holovachov, O., A Shoshin. 2014, 7.4 Order Triplonchida Cobb, 1919, Handbook of Zoology. Gastrotricha …,