Giant Gippsland earthworm
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Annelida Class: Clitellata Subclass: Oligochaeta Family: Megascolecidae Genus: Megascolides Species: M. australis
Binomial name
Megascolides australis McCoy, 1878

The giant Gippsland earthworm (Megascolides australis), is one of Australia's 1000 native earthworm species. These giant earthworms average at 80 cm long and 2 cm in diameter but can reach 3 metres. They have a dark purple head and a pinkish-grey body. The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Image File history File links Status_iucn2. ... This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. ... The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species. ... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... Animalia redirects here. ... Classes and subclasses Class Polychaeta (paraphyletic?) Class Clitellata    Oligochaeta - Earthworms and others    Acanthobdellida    Branchiobdellida    Hirudinea - Leeches Class Myzostomida Class Archiannelida (polyphyletic) Class Echiura *Some authors consider the subclasses under Clitellata to be classes The annelids, collectively called Annelida, are a large phylum of animals, comprising the segmented worms, with about... Clitellata is a Class of Annelid worms. ... Orders Arhynchobdellida Haplotaxida Rhynchobdellida The Oligochaeta or few-bristled worms (singular Oligochaete, IPA /ˈɒlɪgoʊˌkit/) are well-segmented Annelids, most with a spacious coelom that is used as a hydroskeleton. ... Genera See text. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Families   Acanthodrilidae   Ailoscolecidae   Alluroididae   Almidae   Biwadrilidae   Eudrilidae   Exxidae   Glossoscolecidae   Lumbricidae   Lutodrilidae   Megascolecidae   Microchaetidae   Ocnerodrilidae   Octochaetidae   Sparganophilidae Earthworm is the common name for the larger members of the Oligochaeta (which is either a class or subclass depending on the author) in the phylum Annelida. ... In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ... A centimetre (American spelling centimeter, symbol cm) is a unit of length that is equal to one hundredth of a metre, the current SI base unit of length. ...

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. Óģ Ķ ķ Ļ ļ Ņ ņ Ŗ ŗ Ş ş Ţ ţ Ć ć Ĺ ĺ Ń ń Ŕ ŕ Ś ś Ý ý Ź ź Đ đ Ů ů Č č Ď ď Ľ ľ Ň ň Ř ř Š š Ť ť Ž ž Ǎ ǎ Ě ě Ǐ ǐ Ǒ ǒ Ǔ ǔ Ā ā Ē ē Ī ī Ō ō Ū ū ǖ ǘ ǚ ǜ Ĉ ĉ Ĝ ĝ Ĥ ĥ Ĵ ĵ Ŝ ŝ Ŵ ŵ Ŷ ŷ Ă ă Ğ ğ Ŭ ŭ Ċ ċ Ė ė Ġ ġ İ ı Ż ż Ą ą Ę ę Į į Ų ų Ł ł Ő ő Ű ű Ŀ ŀ Ħ ħ Ð ð Þ þ Œ œ Æ æ Ø ø Å å Ə ə – — … [] [[]] {{}} ~ | ° § → ≈ ± − × ¹ ² ³ ‘ “ ’ ” £ € Α α Β β Γ γ Δ δ Ε ε Ζ ζ Η η Θ θ Ι ι Κ κ Λ λ Μ μ Ν ν Ξ ξ Ο ο Π π Ρ ρ Σ σ ς Τ τ Υ υ Φ φ Χ χ Ψ ψ Ω ω ... The Gay Head cliffs in Marthas Vineyard are made almost entirely of clay. ... Habitat (from the Latin for it inhabits) is the place where a particular species lives and grows. ... John Longstaffs Gippsland, Sunday night, February 20th, 1898, depicting the Red Tuesday bushfires that ravaged Gippsland For the electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, see Division of Gippsland. ... Capital Melbourne Government Const. ...

These worms live in deep burrow systems and require water in their environment to respirate. These worms rarely leave their moist burrows. They have relatively long lifespans for invertebrates and can take 5 years to reach maturity. They breed in the warmer months and produce large egg cocoons which are laid in their burrows. When these worms hatch in 12 months they are already 20 cm long. There is a suggestion that the words Bunny and Burrow have a common origin and meaning, French in origin appearing in Britain afetr the Norman conquest. ... Respiration is the process by which an organism obtains energy by reacting oxygen with glucose to give water, carbon dioxide and ATP (energy). ... Lifespan is the maximum number of years a species can survive, defined by the oldest documented age of an individual member. ... Invertebrate is a term coined by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck to describe any animal without a spinal column. ... For other uses, see Reproduction (disambiguation) Reproduction is the biological process by which new individual organisms are produced. ... In most birds and reptiles, an egg (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. ... The tough brown cocoon of an Emperor Gum Moth. ...

They can sometimes be heard in their habitat making gurgling sounds underground.

Threatened status

Like many of Australia’s native species, European colonisation has caused their decline and they are now a protected species. One of the reasons for this decline is the use of superphosphate on pastures. The history of Australia began when people first migrated to the Australian continent from the north, at least 40,000-45,000 years ago. ... The critically endangered Amur Tiger, a rare subspecies of tiger. ... Superphosphate is a fertiliser produced by the action of concentrated Sulphuric Acid on ground phosphate rock. ... Pastureland Pasture is land with lush herbaceous vegetation cover used for grazing of ungulates as part of a farm or ranch. ...

Earthworms do not have a heart but blood sill goes throw their body. It is ture.Somepeople say hey have five hearts bu they dont.They DONT HAVE A HEART.THAT IS TURE.

References

• World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1996). Megascolides australis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Listed as Vulnerable (VU D2 v2.3)

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ...

External link

• Threatened Species: Giant Gippsland Earthworm