The Lumbricidae are a family of earthworms. About 33 lumbricid species have become naturalized around the world, but the bulk of the species are in the Holarctic region: from Canada and the United States and throughout Eurasia to Japan. An enigmatic species in Tasmania is Eophila eti. Currently, 670 valid species and subspecies in about 42 genera are recognized. This family includes the majority of earthworm species well known to Europeans and Asians
Oligochaeta is a subclass of animals in the phylum Annelida, which is made up of many types of aquatic and terrestrial worms, including all of the various earthworms. Specifically, oligochaetes comprise the terrestrial megadrile earthworms, and freshwater or semiterrestrial microdrile forms, including the tubificids, pot worms and ice worms (Enchytraeidae), blackworms (Lumbriculidae) and several interstitial marine worms.
Megascolecidae is a taxonomic family of earthworms native to Madagascar, Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and North America. All species of the Megascolecidae belong to the Clitellata class. The Megascolecidae comprise a large family of earthworms and they can grow up to 2 meters in length. The intercontinental distribution of Megascolecidae species favours the continental drift theory.
Elliot's short-tailed shrew is a small, slate grey, short-tailed species of shrew. Its common name comes from Daniel Giraud Elliot, who first described the species in 1899.
Eisenia fetida, known under various common names such as manure worm, 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. In this trait, they resemble Lumbricus rubellus.
The Clitellata are a class of annelid worms, characterized by having a clitellum – the 'collar' that forms a reproductive cocoon during part of their life cycles. The clitellates comprise around 8,000 species. Unlike the class of Polychaeta, they do not have parapodia and their heads are less developed.
Pheretima is a genus of earthworms found mostly in New Guinea and parts of Southeast Asia.
The forest robin or orange-breasted forest robin is a species of bird from Central and West Africa. It is monotypic in the genus Stiphrornis. It has been placed in the family Turdidae, but is now generally placed in Muscicapidae in the group popularly known as chats. Most taxonomists consider it a single species, but some reviews have recommended recognizing 5 species. It has a total length of around 12 cm, has dark upperparts, and a throat and chest that, depending on the subspecies, is yellow-orange or deep orange.
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 Oligochaeta. In classical systems, they were in the order of Opisthopora since the male pores opened posterior to the female pores, although the internal male segments are anterior to the female. Theoretical cladistic studies have placed them in the suborder Lumbricina of the order Haplotaxida, but this may change. Other slang names for earthworms include "dew-worm", "rainworm", "nightcrawler", and "angleworm". Larger terrestrial earthworms are also called megadriles as opposed to the microdriles in the semiaquatic families Tubificidae, Lumbricidae and Enchytraeidae. The megadriles are characterized by a distinct clitellum and a vascular system with true capillaries.
The European nightcrawler is a medium-small earthworm averaging about 1.5 g when fully grown. Generally blueish, pink-grey in color with a banded or striped appearance, the tips of their tails are often cream or pale yellow. When the species has not been feeding, it is pale pink. The species is usually found in deep woodland litter and garden soils that are rich in organic matter in European countries. D. hortensis is sold primarily as a bait worm, but its popularity as a composting worm is increasing.
Earthworms are invasive species throughout the world. Of a total of about 6,000 species of earthworm, about 120 species are widely distributed around the globe. These are the peregrine or cosmopolitan earthworms. Some of these are invasive species in many regions.
Dendrodrilus rubidus is a species of earthworm in the family Lumbricidae. It is native to Europe, and it is a widespread introduced species, occurring on every continent except Antarctica, as well as many islands. It is often invasive. It is sometimes used as fishing bait, and is marketed under many nonspecific names, including red wiggler, jumping red wiggler, red trout worm, jumbo red worm, and pink worm. Other common names include bank worm, tree worm, and gilt tail.
The annelids, also known as the segmented worms, are a large phylum, with over 22,000 extant species including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches. The species exist in and have adapted to various ecologies – some in marine environments as distinct as tidal zones and hydrothermal vents, others in fresh water, and yet others in moist terrestrial environments.
Samuel James is an American scientist, a researcher specializing in evolutionary biology, focusing on earthworm taxonomy. James, with fellow researchers, has discovered numerous species of annelids, including Diplocardia californiana, Diplocardia woodi, Diplocardia montana, and a new species related to the Giant Palouse earthworm.
Octochaetus multiporus, commonly known as the New Zealand earthworm, is a megascolecid worm endemic to New Zealand. It is mainly found in the south of Manawatu but may also be found along the east coast of the South Island. A bioluminescent worm, Octochaetus multiporus secretes a luminescent fluid from its mouth when disturbed or punctured.
Allolobophora chlorotica is a species of earthworm that feeds and lives in soil. This species stands out from other earthworms due to the presence of three pairs of sucker-like discs on the underside of the clitellum. An examination of A. chlorotica specimens from many parts of the British Isles suggests that there are two forms of this species, one with green pigment in the body wall, and one which lacks this pigment, making it pink.
Bimastos is a genus of lumbricid worm thought to be native to North America but has since been introduced to every continent apart from Antarctica. Recent molecular analysis has subsumed Dendrodrilus and Allolobophoridella under this genus. The clade holding Bimastos and Eisenoides seems to have diverged from Eurasian lumbricid Eisenia during the Late Cretaceous, approximately 69.2–76.1 years ago. This, along with the discovery of an earthworm cocoon attributed to B. rubidus from lake sediment dated over 7,000 years old in Ontario, Canada contradicts the widely held notion that Bimastos and its junior synonyms are invasive worms from Europe which have colonized North America. It's ancestors likely entered North America via the Bering Land bridge or the De Geer route and colonized elsewhere after European contact. This genus is one of the few remaining native earthworms in many North American environments, for example it appears to be the only extant earthworm native to the Alaskan interior.
Octolasion lacteum is a species of earthworm of the genus Octolasion. In New Zealand it has been found in West Coast soils and in Canterbury. They are found in mostly moist areas deep under the soil as they feed in the nutrients within the soil. Unlike other worm species, these are known to survive in acidic soil as well as soil that is not as organic compared to other places. They provide some important roles in the ecosystem as well as threats to other species as well. After a drought, they help the soil get more organic by adding more carbon dioxide in the soil and the waste from the O. lacteum also provides nutrients for the soil. In another case, they can also be invasive in a way that they suck up carbon in the soil which means plants have less causing a disruption to the food web. Lastly, they reproduce by cross parthogenic reproduction.
Limnofila is a genus of heterotrophic protists that live in freshwater habitats and feed on bacteria. They are also present in the soil ecosystem, where they play an important role as predators of bacteria. They are classified as a single family Limnofilidae and order Limnofilida.
