Amazing facts about EarthwormsEarthworm | Lumbricus terrestris

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Annelida

Class: Clitellata

tOrder: Haplotaxida

Suborder: Lumbricina

Families: 18

Number of Hearts: 9

Size: Up to 14 in (35 cm)

Weight: Up to 11.2 g (0.39 oz)

Natural Habitat: Throughout the world

Diet: Herbivorous

Lumbricus terrestris

Interesting & Amazing facts about Earthworms

1. Earthworms can survive only in moist soil. However, too much moisture is also not good for them.
2. Rototilling of the soil can be harmful to earthworms.
3. Earthworms are hermaphrodites i.e. a single individual has both female and male organs.
4. An earthworm can replace or replicate lost segments. However, the extent of this ability depends upon the species as well as the amount of damage.
5. Even though earthworms are hermaphrodites, they need to mate with another worm to produce offspring.
6. Earthworms do not have eyes, but are extremely light sensitive.
7. An earthworm can consume as much as one third of its body weight in a single day.
8. Earthworms usually come out of the dirt after excessive rain storms, since the soil becomes too moist for them to survive.
9. Earthworms can be found in almost every type of soil. At the same time, their number greatly increases with the improvement in the health of the soil.
10. An earthworm does not have lungs. Rather, it breathes through its skin.
11. There are basically four types of earthworms - Nightcrawlers, Garden Worms, Manure Worms and Red Worms.
12. After digestion, earthworms produce excrement that is about the same size as a pin head.
13. In times of drought, an earthworm can dig deep into its burrow, which can be as deep as six feet.
14. Entire body covered with chemoreceptors (taste receptors).