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An earthworm is a soil-dwelling terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida.The term is the common name for the largest members of the class (or subclass, depending on the author) Oligochaeta.
In Canada, it is also called the dew worm, or "Grandaddy Earthworm". In several Germanic languages, it is called variants of "rain worm", for example in German Gemeiner Regenwurm ("common rain worm") or in Danish Stor regnorm ("large rain worm"). In the rest of the world, many references are just to the scientific name, though with occasional ...
Free-living worm species do not live on land but instead live in marine or freshwater environments or underground by burrowing. In biology, "worm" refers to an obsolete taxon, Vermes, used by Carolus Linnaeus and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck for all non-arthropod invertebrate animals, now seen to be paraphyletic. The name stems from the Old English ...
The genus Lumbricus contains some of the most commonly seen earthworms in Europe among its nearly 700 valid species. [2] Characteristics of some commonly encountered species are: Lumbricus rubellus is usually reddish brown or reddish violet, iridescent dorsally, and pale yellow ventrally. They are usually about 25–105 mm in length, and have ...
Eisenia fetida, known under various common names such as manure worm, [2] redworm, brandling worm, panfish worm, trout worm, tiger worm, red wiggler worm, etc., is a species of earthworm adapted to decaying organic material. These worms thrive in rotting vegetation, compost, and manure. They are epigean, rarely found in soil.
Eudrilus eugeniae, also called the "African nightcrawler", is an earthworm species native to tropical west Africa and now widespread in warm regions under vermicompost; it is an excellent source of protein and has great pharmaceutical potential. [1] [2]
Oligochaetes are well-segmented worms and most have a spacious body cavity (coelom) used as a hydroskeleton.They range in length from less than 0.5 mm (0.02 in) up to 2 to 3 metres (6.6 to 9.8 ft) in the 'giant' species such as the giant Gippsland earthworm (Megascolides australis) and the Mekong worm (Amynthas mekongianus).
Earthworms store their partners' sperm in spermathecae ("sperm stores") and then the clitellum produces a cocoon that collects ova from the ovaries and then sperm from the spermathecae. Fertilization and development of earthworm eggs takes place in the cocoon. Leeches' eggs are fertilized in the ovaries, and then transferred to the cocoon.