Giant Gippsland earthworm

The giant Gippsland earthworm (Megascolides australis) is one of Australia's 1,000 native earthworm species.<ref name=euenviro/>

Description

These giant earthworms average Template:Convert long and Template:Convert in diameter and can reach Template:Convert in length; however, their body is able to expand and contract, making them appear much larger. On average, they weigh about Template:Convert.<ref name=museumvic>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Diversity of Soil Fauna and Ecosystem Function, Biology International. Retrieved on October 23, 2008.</ref> They have a dark purple head and a blue-grey body, and about 300 to 400 body segments.<ref name=euenviro>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Ecology

They live in the subsoil of blue, grey, or red clay soils along stream banks and some south- or west-facing hills of their remaining habitat, which is in Gippsland in Victoria, Australia. These worms live in deep burrow systems and require water in their environment to respire.<ref name=euenviro /> They have a relatively long life expectancy for invertebrates and can take 5 years to reach maturity. The reproductive period of the giant Gippsland earthworm mainly spans from September to December.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> They breed in the warmer months and produce egg capsules that are Template:Convert in length that are laid in their burrows. When these worms hatch in 12 months, they are around Template:Convert long.

Unlike most earthworms, which deposit castings on the surface, they spend almost all their time in burrows about Template:Convert in depth and deposit their castings there and can generally only be flushed out by heavy rain. They eat organic matter, as well as bacteria and fungi, which may have allowed them to better adapt to the change from a forest to pasture living area.<ref>Van Praagh, B. D., Yen, A. L., & Rosengren, N. (2007). The conservation of the giant gippsland earthworm'megascolides australis' in relation to its distribution in the landscape. Victorian Naturalist, The, 124(4), 249-253. </ref><ref name=museumvic /> They are usually very sluggish, but when their rapid movement through their burrows can cause an audible gurgling or sucking sound, which allows them to be detected.<ref>Action Statement: Giant Gippsland Earthworm. Retrieved on July 23, 2012.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Threatened status

Gippsland earthworm colonies are small and isolated,<ref name="dpi" /> and the species' low reproductive rate and slow maturation make those small populations vulnerable.<ref name="dpi">Victoria Resources Online: Giant Gippsland Earthworm Template:Webarchive. Retrieved on July 23, 2012.</ref> Their natural habitats are grasslands, and while they can survive beneath pastures,<ref name="dpi" /> cultivation, heavy cattle grazing, and effluent run-off are adversarial to the species.<ref name="dpi" /> The Gippsland earthworm requires moist, loamy soil to thrive; dense tree planting negatively affects soil humidity, which in turn negatively affects the species' habitat.<ref name="dpi" /> No successful breeding has yet been achieved in captivity.<ref name=museumvic /><ref name=euenviro />

Education

Until it closed in 2012 amid animal welfare concerns,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Wildlife Wonderland Park near Bass, Victoria, was home to the Giant Earthworm Museum.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Inside the worm-shaped museum, visitors could crawl through a magnified replica of a worm burrow and a simulated worm's stomach. Displays and educational material on the giant Gippsland earthworm and other natural history of Gippsland were also featured.

Tourism

Interest in the giant Gippsland earthworm has been exploited by the local tourist industry, with an annual Karmai Festival in Korumburra.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the Boonwurrung language, it is said to have been called karmai.Template:Citation needed

See also

• Giant Palouse earthworm - a vulnerable North American species
• Oregon giant earthworm - a relative of the Palouse earthworm, specimens have been recorded at 1.3 m (4 ft) long
• Lake Pedder earthworm - listed as the first "extinct" worm species from its original unique Tasmanian habitat
• Lumbricus badensis - giant (Badish) earthworm
• Microchaetus rappi - giant South African earthworm

External links

• Giant Gippsland earthworm at the Museum Victoria website