Abstract
An accurate survey of the earthworm fauna of Gomera produced 27 species representing five families. Five species are new records for Gomera, and another (Murchieona minuscula) is new for the Canary Islands. The chorological data, obtained from 62 sampling localities, reveal the affinity of each species for the different vegetation zones. The group of taxa Amynthas, Metaphire californica and Pithemera bicincta is widespread throughout the banana groves in the arid basal belt, whereas lumbricid species like Dendrobaena cognettii, Lumbricus rubellus, and Octolasion lacteum are common in the laurel forest of the subhumid montane zone. The origin of the Gomera fauna is clearly linked to human action, and less so to possible remote natural means. The faunistic affinity with other islands of Macharonesia, with the Maghreb and the southwestern biogeographic zones of the Mediterranean is discussed.
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