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Earthworms
Earthworms live underground, and are used by often humans for fishing bait, gardening, and waste decomposition.
952 Questions
How does the earthworm extract nutrients from their food?
Earthworms break down substances by means of a crop which is situated below the gullet. The crop is lined with a very hard skin and the grit in the crop, together with digestive juices crushes the sand and other decayed vegetable matter into a paste.
In an earthworm is a respiratory system evident?
Earthworms breath through their skin, earthworms diffuse oxygen through a network of thin-walled capillaries which are found just under the skin.
What is the difference between mealworm and earthworm?
Meal worms are much smaller and are a brown-orange color. They are much harder and have 6 small legs towards the front of their body. Earthworms are much larger and are a pink fleshy color. They are much softer and do not have legs.
After two earthworms have mated, the clitellum secretes the cocoon which forms a ring around the worm. The worm then backs out of the ring, and as it does so, injects its own eggs and the other worm's sperm into it. As the worm slips out, the ends of the cocoon seal to form a vaguely lemon-shaped incubator or cocoon in which the embryonic worms develop
Read more: Do_earthworm_reproduce_by_laying_eggs
How many segments are between the mouth and clitellum of an earthworm?
Earthworms are invertebrates. That is, they do not have a backbone. Insects, sea stars, spiders, jellyfish, and millipedes are other examples of invertebrate animals.
Segments
Study the illustration of an earthworm shown below. You will notice that earthworms have long, cylindrical body that is divided into similar segments. The grooves that extend around the body of the worm show the arrangement of the segments.
Some species of earthworms have a body composed of over 100 segments. How many segments does your earthworm have?
Symmetry
Earthworms have bilateral symmetry. This means that if you cut the earthworm down the centerline, the left side of the body would be identical to the right side.
Body Colours
One of the key features of an earthworm is the colour of its body. Some species of earthworms have a dark-red or red-violet body while other species are muddy-green. However, there are species that do not have these colours. For the purposes of Worm Watch, these animals are said to have "other body colours."
Prostomium
Some species of earthworms have a tongue-like lobe above the mouth called prostomium. The prostomium is actually a sensory device. Earthworms do not have a nose, eyes, ears, or hands to gather sensory information about their environment. Instead, they depend on their prostomium and sensory receptors in their skin to "feel" their way through the soil.
Peristomium
The first body segment is called the peristomium. The peristomium contains the mouth.
Clitellum
Adult (sexually mature) earthworms have a distinct swelling called a clitellum. It is located about one-third of the way down the earthworm. The clitellum is often white or orange in colour. It produces most of the material secreted to form earthworm cocoons. The clitellum forms a band that can be flared, non-flared, saddle-shaped, or annular. It is generally found between segments 26 and 33.
The clitellum is only found on adult worms. Young or juvenile worms do not have a clitellum. The clitellum of each species of earthworm has a distinct colour, size, and shape. Another key structure found on the clitellum is the tubercula pubertatis.
The diagram shows the shape and structure of the clitellum. They may have any combination of shapes.
Tubercula Pubertatis (TP)
The tubercula pubertatis (TP) is another structure used to identify earthworms. The TP are glandular swellings located on both sides of the clitellum. They can assume a variety of shapes such as long and narrow, triangular, or sucker-like.
The shape and location of the tubercula pubertatis (TP) on the clitellum are key features used to identify mature earthworms.]
Genital Tumescences (GT)
The genital tumescences (GT) are areas of modified epidermis (skin) that do not have distinct boundaries. These are openings through which follicles of genital setae open.
The pattern and location of the GT are important clues to identifying different species of earthworms.]
Anterior
Locate the clitellum of a mature earthworm. The shorter region to one side of the clitellum is the anterior or head-end of the animal. This end of the worm is usually more pointed than the posterior end of the animal.
The prostomium is the first segment at the anterior end of the animal.
Posterior
Locate the clitellum of a mature earthworm. The longer region is the posterior or tail end of the earthworm.
Dorsal
The top-side of an animal is called the dorsal surface. For example, the fin you see in all shark movies shows the dorsal fin of a shark just before it attacks. The dorsal surface of some species of earthworms is darker than its ventral surface.
Ventral
The bottom-side of an animal is called the ventralsurface. In many animals, the ventral surface is a lighter colour or shade than the dorsal surface.
Periproct
The periproct is the last segment of an earthworm.
Setae
Each segment, except the first and last, have tiny bristle-like structures called setae. These structures help the earthworm to move and act to sense the environment.
The number and arrangement of setae are important clues to the identification of earthworms.]
Epidermis
The epidermis is the name for the skin of an earthworm. It is the outer layer of worm and it secretes a mucous.
I have been currrently studying this subject A clearwater community college so if you like this information you should visit this link http://www.icewatch.ca/english/wormwatch/resources/anatomy.html
What are the characteristics of earthworm habitat?
Earthworm populations depend on both physical and chemical properties of the soil, such as soil temperature, moisture, pH, salts, aeration and texture, as well as available food, and the ability of the species to reproduce and disperse. One of the most important environmental factors is ph, but earthworms vary in their preferences. Most earthworms favour neutral to slightly acidic soil. Another important factor in the amount of moisture in the soil as the earthworm requires this to breath.
An earthworm is a decomposer, meaning they break down dead organisms into smaller subtances.A scavenger only eats dead animals.
What are close relatives of earthworms?
i have done studying on this subject myself and i find that the commen earth worm due to the fact that there are about 2783 types of earth worms would be slugs and if not information has lead me to think that they would be related to just flat worms or round worms. ~anonymous
What is the function of the earthworms clitellum?
It is the part of an earthworm that when the worm is mature will hold the fertilized egg and then make a cocoon to hold the zygote worm. It is used in reproduction and helps to distinguish the worm's anterior end.
Are there earthworms in Alaska?
Earthworms cannot generally live in the desert as the climate is not favorable to them. They require moist soil which to live and feed upon, which cannot be found in the desert.
Most eathworms dont have ears, but if you get a few of them under a microscope it will show that very few earthworms have little ears, it can be hard to see the ears as they are havily surronded in skin.
yes they do. but the fertilize it! Many gardeners use worms to fertilize their crops for better maintenance of their fruits and veggies.
P.S. Their "waste" is the fertilizing part. Hope this helps!
How long can an earthworm get?
Earthworm longevity is species dependent. Various specialists report that certain species have the potential to live 4-8 years. In protected culture conditions (no predators, ideal conditions) individuals of Allolobophora longa have been kept up to 10 1/4 years, Eisenia foetida for 4½ years and Lumbricus terrestris for 6 years.
How does an earthworm obtain its oxygen?
Since they don't have a nose or lungs, they take in oxygen through their skin.
What is the difference between a planarian and earthworm's digestive system?
Earthworms belong to phylum Annelida, they are tube structured organisms living in soil. They have segmented body.
Sponges belong to phylum Porifera, they are marine dwellers and they are sessile organisms found in beautiful colours in ocean floor.
How long have earthworms been on earth?
earthworms were the third form of life. They have been around for over 2000 years.
Why are earthworms considered to be hermaphrodites?
This isn't a real advantage to an earthworm. This is because they are not able to reproduce by themselves. They may be hermaphrodites, but it doesn't help them much. ADVANTAGE- when they have "sex" with another worm (touching the clitellum together), it doesn't matter where exactly it touches, as long it touches they are able to reproduce. That is the only advantage. (Which I think is kind of stupid)
How can a earth worm have hearts?
There are actually 5 hearts in an earthworm.
Correction:
They technically aren't hearts they are considered aortic arches
No, an earthworm is not a chordate because it has a nerve cord that does not run down the back.
Which bird eats fruit and earthworms?
no they do not in fact a lot of birds don't eat worms like raptors, vultures, owls but most passerines and water birds like ducks and rails eat worms i hope that helps :)
Why is an earthworm considered as an annelid?
Because the worm has many rings around its bodies which makes it a an Annelid.
Annelid="Ringed" and refers to a series of rings or segments that make up the bodies of the members of this phylum.
