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Earthworms are commonly found in moist, compost-rich soil, eating a wide variety of organic matters, [3] which include detritus, living protozoa, rotifers, nematodes, bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms. [4] An earthworm's digestive system runs the length of its body. [5]
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).
Familiar worms include the earthworms, members of phylum Annelida. Other invertebrate groups may be called worms, especially colloquially. In particular, many unrelated insect larvae are called "worms", such as the railroad worm, woodworm, glowworm, bloodworm, butterworm, inchworm, mealworm, silkworm, and woolly bear worm.
List of annelid families describes the taxa relationships in the phylum Annelida, which contains more than 17,000 extant species including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches. [ 1 ] Class Polychaeta
Anglers sometimes find that worms are more effective bait than artificial flies, and worms can be kept for several days in a tin lined with damp moss. [52] Ragworms are commercially important as bait and as food sources for aquaculture, and there have been proposals to farm them in order to reduce over-fishing of their natural populations. [51]
Komarekiona eatoni, or the Kentucky earthworm, is a vulnerable species of nearctic Annelid. K. eatoni is found in the southwestern United States , especially near the Appalachian Mountains , though they range at least northwest to Illinois and northeast to Maryland .
Invasive earthworms can have a significant impact causing changes in soil profiles, nutrient and organic matter content and other soil organisms or plant communities. In most cases the disturbed areas includes agricultural systems or previously areas that are lacking of earthworms would see the biggest impact of the invasive earthworms. [28]
Lumbricus terrestris has several common names, including common earthworm, nightcrawler, and dew worm. It is strongly pigmented, brown-red dorsally, and yellowish ventrally. Setae are widely paired at both ends of the body.