Genus Pontodrilus Perrier, 1874

Type species. Lumbricus litoralis Grube, 1855

Diagnosis. Dorsal pores absent. Tubular prostatic duct structure to male pore on segment XVIII. Female pores in XIV. Setae lumbricine. Nephridia absent in the anterior segments. Gizzard absent; calciferous glands absent; typhlosole absent. Penial setae present or absent. Spermathecae 2–4 pairs.

Distribution. One cosmopolitan species, P. litoralis, occurs over a very wide range of sub-temperate and tropical coastal areas all over the world. Another littoral species, P. primoris in Tasmania; two species, P. agnesae, and P. sinensis, found inland in Sri Lanka and China, respectively, and the lacustrine species P. lacustris in Lake Wakatipu, New Zealand.