The Giant Gippsland Earthworm is one of the largest earthworms in the world. It grows to 80–100+ cm long and is 2 cm in diameter. It has 300 to 400 body segments.
The Oregon giant earthworm is one of North America's largest earthworm species, reaching up to 1.32 m (4.3 ft.) in length.
The worm can grow to up to three metres long, and it is one of the world's longest species of earthworm.
Earthworms typically live only a few months because of the many environmental threats they face. However, some worms have been observed to live for 10 years in a protected environment.
But the title of the world's largest earthworm species goes to Australia's Giant Gippsland earthworm (Megascolides australis), which is about six feet long.
The Giant Gippsland Earthworm Megascolides australis is only found in small areas of South and West Gippsland, Victoria. It is one of the largest earthworms in the world, often exceeding one metre in length.
The Giant Gippsland Earthworm is one of the largest earthworms in the world. It grows to 80–100+ cm long and is 2 cm in diameter. It has 300 to 400 body segments.
Reports from French Guiana document the capture of giant earthworms (0.6–1 m in length) by the giant tarantula, Theraphosa blondi (Latreille, 1804). Predation on giant earthworms by large tarantulas has also been observed in rainforest habitats in Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The longest earthworm is Microchaetus rappi of South Africa. In 1967 a giant specimen measuring 6.7 m (21 ft) in length when naturally extended and 20 mm (0.8 in) in diameter was found on a road between Alice and King William's Town.
The gigantic worm species, called Websteroprion armstrongi, lived in the sea. But what it fed on is uncertain. Considering its jaws, researchers believe that it may have been both a predator and a scavenger. An interesting aspect of the finding is that it shows that gigantism existed as early as 400 million years ago.
There are no known natural predators (Yen and Van Praagh 1994). . The Giant Gippsland Earthworm is endemic to South and West Gippsland. Its approximate distribution was determined by questionnaires completed by local residents (Smith and Peterson 1982).
The giant earthworm burrows through relatively firm soil up to 5 feet deep, using its muscular head to chew through the substrate while ingesting fungi, bacteria, algae, and other microbes. They don't have teeth, but they do have a gizzard, where small rocks that the worm has eaten help grind up food.
Don't be fooled though, they make up for it with the interesting aspects they do have. Like five hearts that squeeze two blood vessels to push blood throughout their little bodies. Earthworms have mucus and little hairs covering their skin that allows them to move through different types of soil.
The easiest way to kill it is to run behind it. The worm can't turn around so it will never hit you. While back here, stand so that the giant ballista that is shooting will also hit the worm. Let it keep getting shot, and you'll have an easy kill.
Worms lay eggs, which hatch as little worms. Baby worms develop in cocoons. They are babies for 60 to 90 days and it takes them about a year to become an adult. Worms can live for up to 10 years.
Microchaetus rappi, the African giant earthworm, is a large earthworm in the Microchaetidae family, the largest of the segmented worms (commonly called earthworms). It averages about 1.4 m (4.5 ft) in length, but can reach a length of as much as 6.7 m (22 ft) and can weigh over 1.5 kg (3.3 lb).
The Giant Gippsland Earthworm is listed as Vulnerable under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
They might sense something, but it is not painful and does not compromise their well-being."
While worms can be eaten raw in an emergency, you should cook them if at all possible. Like most of the things on this list, they can potentially carry parasites—and the parasite potential should motivate you to cook them first. Not to mention the extremely unpleasant prospect of eating a live worm.
These earthworms are very rare, found only in one river valley located in southeast Australia – the Bass River Valley of South Gippsland. In the entire world, these worms can only be found in an area that totals about 150 square miles.
These Giant earthworms average at 100 cm long and 2 cm in diameter and can reach 3 m in length. It is difficult to measure length, as the worms will stretch, so scientists use weight to estimate the size. The average weight of a fresh adult worm is about 200 grams.
An earthworm's lifespan depends on its environment. Those with a wholesome country lifestyle can live up to eight years, but those in city gardens generally last 1-2 years. They often die from changes in the soil (drying or flooding), disease or predators such as birds, snakes, small animals and large insects.
The Demolition of The Giant Worm
Eight years after the closure of the Wildlife Wonderland Park, the massive worm sculpture was finally demolished and reduced to a pile of rubble.
Giant Beach Worms are long and thin, 1.5 cm wide, they can grow up 300 cm long. They have hundreds of body segments. They have short tentacles near their head. These beachworms are from the family Onuphidae, also known as polychaete worms.