The biggest worm in the world.

The first reaction to the question: “What is the longest animal?”, I want to answer - a giraffe. After thinking a little, you remember about the whale. Some might argue that there is a blue jellyfish that is even bigger. All these are misconceptions. Without any doubt, the record holders in size will be worms.

Before late XVIII A fairly large type of the animal kingdom was classified under this name. Later, zoologists disbanded it and created a number of new types.

Classification of worms

Today the Animal Kingdom includes a large group, under common name- Protostomes, which do not form a separate rank. What are commonly called worms are united by 8 types. Among them - Hairworms, Priapulids, Sipunculids, as well as Gnotostomulids with Acanthocephalans, are of little interest to us. But the remaining 3 are worth paying attention to:

Everyone knows earthworms. These garden workers never tire of plowing the soil, constantly aerating it. Few people have studied the question - what are the largest earthworms. There is, perhaps, no area in the world where these ringed animals are not found. At favorable conditions live up to 10 years. Only by the sixth year is this individual able to lay eggs. The larvae appear another year later. All this time they are growing. On the Australian continent there are 3-meter giants. The photos of the world's largest earthworms are simply amazing. At first glance, they can be confused with a snake.

Medicine knows the fact that 17-meter-long worms were removed from the human body. And it's not the biggest

The photo of such a giant is amazing. The wide tapeworm can live up to 20 years, constantly increasing in size. The carrier is deprived of the opportunity to live normally, his body is depleted to the limit. Infection most often occurs through poorly processed fish.

Bull tapeworm

A very unpleasant animal lives in the tropics - the Dragon. The worm reaches humans through water, gnaws through the intestinal wall and settles in various organs. After reaching sexual maturity, females move to the subcutaneous tissue.

As soon as a person is near the water, leaning out, the worm throws out numerous larvae. With age, such animals grow up to 80 cm. Numerous, easily opened pustules form on the human body, which cause unpleasant itching and serve as a site for secondary infection.

Human roundworm

Roundworms also use humans as a carrier. These animals are not gigantic in size, the maximum size is no more than 40 cm. But their fertility is amazing. The female is capable of laying up to 240 thousand eggs every day. Eggs that come out are very difficult to kill. They can wait for their owner for up to 12 years. Under favorable conditions, they do not need an intermediate carrier. The larvae develop well on their own without leaving the egg. They reach humans through poorly washed vegetables and fruits, as well as contaminated water. They emerge from the eggs, to begin with, and begin to migrate through the insides of a person.

The larvae can be found in the heart, liver, lungs and even the brain. They are caused by a wide variety of diseases. After a certain stage of development, they return through saliva to the stomach, where they grow into adult animals. The circle closes.

Megascolides australis(lat.) - a species of oligochaete worms of the family Megascolecidae, common in Australia. It was discovered in 1878 by Frederick McCoy in Gippsland in Victoria. The worm reaches a length of 80 cm to 3 m.

The species is endemic to the area around the Bass River in southern Gippsland. The area of ​​the habitat is 40,000 hectares, forming a triangle between settlements Loch, Korumburra and Warragul. Worms very rarely appear on the surface of the earth. They live in moist soil at a distance of 40 meters from the river bank. In some places they are found very often, up to 10 individuals per 1 cubic meter of soil.

Worms(Gippslands) feed on roots and plant detritus. When in danger, they take refuge in burrows that go 1-1.5 meters deep. Living tunnels are often kept damp. The presence of worms can be determined by the characteristic noise that occurs when the worms return to their homes. Megascolides australis is a long-lived worm with relatively slow metagenesis. Studies have shown that worms reach sexual maturity in their fifth year. For this reason, worms cannot always quickly adapt to changes in the environment.

Worms They are hermaphrodites, but they need a partner to reproduce. The worm lays an amber-colored cocoon with an egg 5 to 9 cm long in chambers adjacent to the tunnel, at a depth of approximately 22 cm from the surface of the earth. From each cocoon, after about 12 months, only one worm emerges.

Gippslands are quite fragile - careless handling can kill them. Only a certain type of moist soil is suitable for them to live. If you walk on the ground above their water-filled burrows, they will react to the vibration from your steps - they will begin to crawl and make squelching sounds that are quite easy to hear. So even if you consider that giant gypsums are quite rare, you will know that they are near you.

Giant Gippslands lay huge cocoon eggs that look like brown bean pods. The worm lays only one egg at a time, and it takes a whole year for it to hatch. Giant Gippsland babies reach 18 cm in length, and in order to grow to maximum length, it takes them about five years. It is not known exactly how long they live, but according to preliminary estimates, about 20 years.

Despite their impressive size, there are few giant Gippslands in Australia due to the fact that their houses are easy to destroy and they reproduce slowly. Worms are listed in the Red Book as a vulnerable endangered species.

Australian giant earthworms are protected by the government. An annual festival was even organized in their honor - "Karmai" (as the worm is called by the aborigines).

But that's not all the honors. An attraction museum was built in his honor in 1985. It is a huge 100-meter building in the shape of an earthworm.

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Megascolides australis is the largest worm in the world. Its length can reach up to 3 m and its diameter up to 20 mm. The giant lives in the south of Gippsland near the Bass River (Australia, Victoria).

This species of earthworm belongs to the family Megascolecidae. As a rule, the giant worm digs holes no more than 1.5 m deep and about 20 mm in diameter. Usually does not crawl further than 40 m from the Bass River. The worm can glow in the dark, and while moving underground it emits a kind of snorting sound, which, if it is shallow, can be easily heard on the surface.

Prefers moist soil, as the more water in the soil, the easier it is for him to breathe. However, in case of heavy rains, he has to climb to the surface. The largest worm in the world feeds on the dead organic substances and plant roots.

Life expectancy can be 10-20 years, but accurate information is not available this moment does not exist. I wonder what puberty occurs only after 5 years, when the ability to lay eggs appears. A year after the egg was laid, only one larva measuring 18-20 cm appears.

Megascolides australis was first described by British scientist Frederick McCoy in 1878. IN Australian city Korumburra in honor giant worm, a festival called “Karmai” is held annually. Translated from the Aboriginal language, this means a huge worm. During the festival, the queen of these giants is chosen.

Everyone knows earthworms. These garden workers never tire of plowing the soil, constantly aerating it. Few people have studied the question of what the largest earthworms are. There is, perhaps, no area in the world where these ringed animals are not found. Under favorable conditions they live up to 10 years. Only by the sixth year is this individual able to lay eggs. The larvae appear another year later. All this time they are growing. On the Australian continent there are 3-meter giants. The photos of the world's largest earthworms are simply amazing. At first glance, they can be confused with a snake.

Medicine knows the fact that 17-meter-long worms were removed from the human body. And this is not the biggest worm in a person.

The photo of such a giant is amazing. The wide tapeworm can live up to 20 years, constantly increasing in size. The carrier is deprived of the opportunity to live normally, his body is depleted to the limit. Infection most often occurs through poorly processed fish.

A very unpleasant animal lives in the tropics - the Dragon. The worm reaches humans through water, gnaws through the intestinal wall and settles in various organs. After reaching sexual maturity, females move to the subcutaneous tissue.

As soon as a person is near the water, leaning out, the worm throws out numerous larvae. With age, such animals grow up to 80 cm. Numerous, easily opened pustules form on the human body, which cause unpleasant itching and serve as a site for secondary infection.

Human roundworm

Roundworms also use humans as a carrier. These animals are not gigantic in size, the maximum size is no more than 40 cm. But their fertility is amazing. The female is capable of laying up to 240 thousand eggs every day. Eggs that come out are very difficult to kill. They can wait for their owner for up to 12 years. Under favorable conditions, they do not need an intermediate carrier. The larvae develop well on their own without leaving the egg. They reach humans through poorly washed vegetables and fruits, as well as contaminated water. They emerge from the eggs, to begin with, and begin to migrate through the insides of a person.

The larvae can be found in the heart, liver, lungs and even the brain. They are caused by a wide variety of diseases. After a certain stage of development, they return through saliva to the stomach, where they grow into adult animals. The circle closes.

80 cm long, 2.5 cm thick, no legs, crawling on the ground - what is it? You guessed wrong, it's not a snake - it's a worm. Giant Gippsland, found in the town of Gippsland in south-eastern Australia, is the largest earthworm in the world. If such a worm stretches to its full length, it can reach two meters.

These creeping giants are surprisingly gentle creatures. Finding them is quite difficult, since they spend most of their lives deep underground, and the higher the water content in the soil, the easier it is for them to breathe. Their burrows are quite deep - often these worms live at a depth of 7.5–13 cm underground, sometimes heavy rains force them to the surface. Their burrows can also be found in places where there was a recent landslide.

Gippslands are quite fragile - careless handling can kill them. Only a certain type of moist soil is suitable for them to live. If you walk on the ground above their water-filled burrows, they will react to the vibration from your steps - they will begin to crawl and make squelching sounds that are quite easy to hear. So even if you consider that giant gypsums are quite rare, you will know that they are near you.

Giant Gippslands lay huge cocoon eggs that look like brown bean pods. The worm lays only one egg at a time, and it takes a whole year for it to hatch. Baby giant gippslands reach 18cm in length and take about five years to grow to their maximum length. It is not known exactly how long they live, but according to preliminary estimates, about 20 years.

Despite their impressive size, there are few giant Gippslands in Australia due to the fact that their houses are easy to destroy and they reproduce slowly. Worms are listed in the Red Book as a vulnerable endangered species.