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Nightcrawler Earthworm Research Paper

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The Scientific name of the Nightcrawler Earthworm is Lumbricus terrestris. The Kingdom of the Nightcrawler is Animalia and the phylum is annelida. The class, order, suborder, and family in that order is Oligochaeta, Haplotaxida, Lumbricina, and Lumbricidae. Lastly, the phylum and genus is Lumbricus terrestris, like the scientific name states. The origins of the Nightcrawler worm was originally thought to be Manitoba or North America but is actually said to be Europe. However, though it originates in Europe it is most prevalent in Manitoba. The habitat of the worm is most preferably moist soil that are rich in organic matter. As for the ecological habitat, I would say underground insects, dirt, organic matter, and other underground species. …show more content…

They promote the activities of those organisms “shedding and increasing the surface area of organic matter and making it more available to small organisms”. The Nightcrawler is consumed by snakes, birds, moles, toads and even sometimes foxes. Other notorious beings known to eat the worm are beetles, slugs, leeches, flatworms, other types of parasitized earthworms. The Nightcrawler worm is, like other species of worms, a hermaphrodite. Although the worm contains the sexual organs of both the genders, they still need to mate to reproduce. The two worms lie alongside each other and transfer sperm to the both of them. Each worm will lay capsules to be used as a cocoon for the egg. When the capsules break fully formed tiny worms will emerge. It is said that they prefer to mate during the spring and fall time. It takes a year for the tiny worms to fully grow, and it is also said worms live for 3-8 years, although that isn’t

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