Driloleirus americanus
| Driloleirus americanus | ||||||||||||
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Driloleirus americanus |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Driloleirus americanus | ||||||||||||
| Smith , 1897 |
Driloleirus americanus ( English : Giant Palouse earthworm ) is a member of the Megascolecidae (so-called "giant earthworms" ) that is found in North Americaand belongs to the group of little bristles .
The worm species was discovered and described in the east of Washington state in 1897 and can reach a length of up to one meter. It is colorless and can retreat to depths of up to 5 m in the soft and fertile soils of the Palouse Prairie, a hilly grassy landscape in Washington state. The Palouse prairie is a type of ecosystem that has been threatened by heavy agricultural use since the 19th century .
Similar to the species Driloleirus macelfreshi , discovered in Oregon in 1937 , Driloleirus americanus has been observed very rarely and little is known about its way of life. The species was thought to be extinct; However, in 2010 two live specimens were discovered.
Web links
- Giant Palouse Earthworm (Driloleirus americanus)
- Driloleirus americanus inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: World Conservation Monitoring Center, 1996. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Idaho scientists find enabled worm . NBCNews.com. Retrieved April 28, 2010.