Save the Giant Earthworms
Posted on September 12, 2006
In Spokane, Washington conversvationists are trying to get federal protection for the three feet long Giant Palouse Earthworm. ScienceDaily has a photograph of one of the Giant Palouse Earthworm. The Boston Herald has an article about the Palouse worm.
The earthworm is native to the deep soils of the Palouse, which were built up by millions of years of volcanic ash and are some of the richest farmland on Earth. Little is known about the giant worms: how many there are, where they live, how they behave, or why they are so scarce.There is a big earthworm in Australia as well called the meter long Giant Gippsland Earthworm.The worm was first found in 1897, and the species has always been elusive. It can burrow down to 15 feet deep. There have been only three reported sightings since 1987.
The most recent was on May 27, 2005, when a graduate student from the University of Idaho, Yaniria Sanchez-de Leon, unearthed one specimen.
The Giant Palouse Earthworm is described as the largest and longest-lived earthworm on this continent. It reportedly gives off a peculiar flowery smell when handled, and can spit at attackers, Paulson said.
There are around 1000 species of native earthworms in Australia. One of the most spectacular is the Giant Gippsland Earthworm; at over a metre long it is one of the largest earthworms in the world.It seems likely that are some earthworm and giant earthworm species we may still not be aware of. Hopefully, they will be protected.Most of Australia's native earthworms have been unable to survive the disturbance of land clearing and agriculture. Introduced earthworms, mainly from Europe, have now replaced native earthworms in most disturbed habitats. The Giant Gippsland Earthworm (Megascolides australis) is a sub-soil species and has been able to survive in pockets of land less severely disturbed by cultivation.
