A functional guide for the separation of foreign earthworm taxa (intentionally or coincidentally recorded in South African soils) from native South African taxa is provided. Forty-four earthworm species recorded from South African soils, known as ‘exotics’ or introduced, which were under secondary attention for many years, are placed in the annotated keys. The family characters for the indigenous Acanthodrilinae, Microchaetidae and Tritogeniidae, and generic/specific foreign taxa of the Benhamiinae, Eudrilidae, Glossoscolecidae, Lumbricidae, Megascolecidae and Ocnerodrilidae are highlighted, keyed and illustrated. An expansive glossary covering terminologies used in earthworm taxonomy is provided and a broad bibliography of South African earthworms is included in the references.