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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 have many internal parasites, including protozoa, platyhelminthes, mites, and nematodes; they can be found in the worms' blood, seminal vesicles, coelom, or intestine, or in their cocoons (e.g. the mite Histiostoma murchiei is a parasite of earthworm cocoons [53]).
However, 'earthworm' can be a source of confusion since, in most of the world, other species are more typical. For example, through much of the unirrigated temperate areas of the world, the "common earthworm" is actually Aporrectodea (=Allolobophora) trapezoides, which in those areas is a similar size and dark colour to L. terrestris.
The coelom (or celom) [1] is the main body cavity in many animals [2] and is positioned inside the body to surround and contain the digestive tract and other organs.In some animals, it is lined with mesothelium.
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.
Original – Diagram of the head of an earthworm including most of its major organs Reason Meets all of the FP criteria for SVG diagrams, including being freely licensed Articles in which this image appears Earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris FP category for this image Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Sciences/Biology Creator KDS4444
Giant Palouse earthworm - A vulnerable North American species. Oregon giant earthworm - A relative of the Palouse earthworm. Specimens have been recorded at 1.3 m (4 feet) long. Lake Pedder earthworm - Listed as the first "extinct" worm species from its original unique Tasmanian habitat. Lumbricus badensis - Giant (Badish) earthworm.
Many animals with a wormlike cylindrical body have a hydrostatic skeleton with a flexible skin and a water-filled body cavity (coelom or pseudocoelom). They move by peristalsis, using opposed circular and longitudinal muscles, which act on the hydrostatic skeleton to change the body's shape. Hydrostatic skeletons are typically arranged in a ...