Plisko states in her article that the broad description of the site "was imprecise"[4], and when originally described by Rapp, "the recorded observations on the anatomy ... were very few"[5].
In the same paper, Beddard requested and received specimens of large earthworms for careful dissection and study.
In 1886, Benham accepted the change in taxonomy "as valid for the species described by Rapp, [and] relegated the original name microchaetus to the synonymy of rappi" [9].
Benham reported that the exterior of his specimen was "in colour, a beautiful iridescent, greenish brown dorsally and laterally, whilst ventrally it is of a pink tint" [14].
Benham described the mouth as "nearly terminal, ... overlapped by the small prostomium ... large and circular", and its anus as "subterminal, [with a] horizontal slit"[17].
The spermathecal pores in his specimen were "very numerous and minute ... [and] it was only after dissection that [he] found where they [were] situated ... on the anterior edge of somites [12-15]"[20].
Sperm-pores were not visible on the surface "as there [were] no papillae or other marks ... but by tracing down the sperm duct [it was found] to end in somite [19]"[21].
Due to the thin-walls and vascular density of this region, when living or recently deceased it is a red colour in appearance.
[31] In 1886, Benham "provided a comprehensive description of [a specimen] as Microchaeta rappi Beddard, 1886, despite differences in the position of clitellum, tubercula pubertatis and number of spermathecae"[32].
Beddard made the same mistake in his 1895 study, where "the differences between species described by himself and Benham (1886a,b) were ignored, and the position of the clitellum on 10-25 was indicated".
When he was doing this, he "ignored the other label inserted in the bottle, which [was most likely] the original ... made at the time when Rapp's material was deposited in the NHM"[33].
Further comparison of specimens at the British Museum of Natural History (BMNH) by Plisko showed that "although Beddard's (1886a,b) comprehensive description of rappi clearly distinguishes it from microchaetus, other data supplied later by Beddard (1895) include characters for both rappi and microchaetus".[34].
I. Microchaeta Rappi, Beddard (Lumbricus microchetus, Rapp)", p.269 [18] Benham, "Studies on Earthworms, Part II.
I. Microchaeta Rappi, Beddard (Lumbricus microchetus, Rapp)", p.268 [19] Benham, "Studies on Earthworms, Part II.
I. Microchaeta Rappi, Beddard (Lumbricus microchetus, Rapp)", p.269 [20] Benham, "Studies on Earthworms, Part II.
I. Microchaeta Rappi, Beddard (Lumbricus microchetus, Rapp)", p.270 [21] Benham, "Studies on Earthworms, Part II.
I. Microchaeta Rappi, Beddard (Lumbricus microchetus, Rapp)", p.270 [22] Benham, "Studies on Earthworms, Part II.
I. Microchaeta Rappi, Beddard (Lumbricus microchetus, Rapp)", p.270 [23] Benham, "Studies on Earthworms, Part II.
I. Microchaeta Rappi, Beddard (Lumbricus microchetus, Rapp)", p.270 [24] Benham, "Studies on Earthworms, Part II.
I. Microchaeta Rappi, Beddard (Lumbricus microchetus, Rapp)", p.271 [25] Benham, "Studies on Earthworms, Part II.
I. Microchaeta Rappi, Beddard (Lumbricus microchetus, Rapp)", p.274 [26] Benham, "Studies on Earthworms, Part II.
I. Microchaeta Rappi, Beddard (Lumbricus microchetus, Rapp)", p.274 [27] Benham, "Studies on Earthworms, Part II.
I. Microchaeta Rappi, Beddard (Lumbricus microchetus, Rapp)", p.275 [28] Benham, "Studies on Earthworms, Part II.
I. Microchaeta Rappi, Beddard (Lumbricus microchetus, Rapp)", p.269 [15] Benham, "Studies on Earthworms, Part II.
I. Microchaeta Rappi, Beddard (Lumbricus microchetus, Rapp)", p.268 [16] Benham, "Studies on Earthworms, Part II.
I. Microchaeta Rappi, Beddard (Lumbricus microchetus, Rapp)", p.269 [17] Benham, "Studies on Earthworms, Part II.