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Microchaetus rappi, the African Giant Earthworm, is a large earthworm in the family Microchaetidae, the largest of the segmented worms (commonly called earthworms). It averages about 1.4 meters (4.5 feet) in length, but can reach a length of as much as 6.7 meters (22 feet) and can weigh over 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds).
These giant earthworms average 1 metre (3.3 ft) long and 2 centimetres (0.79 in) in diameter and can reach 3 metres (9.8 ft) in length; however, their body is able to expand and contract making them appear much larger. On average they weigh about 200 grams (0.44 lb).
The Mekong giant earthworm may grow to a length of up to 2.9 m (10 ft). [2] Compared to their great length, these worms are relatively slender. [3] The type specimen was one metre long and 8 mm (0.3 in) wide at the broadest point (segment 5). It had 370 segments and was a greyish colour, rather paler on the ventral surface.
The rate of growth during the first 14 days is very low, however; after 21 – 28 days, the rate of growth increases and then cycles up and down throughout the worm's life with no pattern. [14] The growth rate of these worms is correlated to the temperature of their environment.
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.
Meanwhile, the Dog Aging Project, a longitudinal study investigating the aging process in dogs, is analyzing the effects of rapamycin – a drug that’s sometimes used in cancer therapies and to ...
Rhinodrilus fafner is a presumed extinct giant earthworm of the family Glossoscolecidae.It is only known by the badly preserved holotype discovered in 1912 near Belo Horizonte in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais and described in 1918 by German zoologist Wilhelm Michaelsen (1860–1937) from the National History Museum in Hamburg.
Up to 60 cm in length, this earthworm is one of the largest European species. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] It weighs between 25 and 35 g and lives in subterranean tubes which are up to 2.5 m deep. It feeds on organic matter it ingests from the surface and aerates the soil as it moves through it, contributing to the formation of humus .