Range: Africa, Australia, Northwestern United States of America, and South America Habitat: Moist soil Size: About 4.5 feet (1.4m) long; Up to 1 inch (2.54cm) wide; Up to 3 pounds (1.4kg) Diet: Soil, plant matter, and more Threats: Habitat loss, snakes, and more Life span: Unknown

Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re talking about giant earthworms. It’s a giant help to us when you subscribe! There isn’t exactly a distinct group of earthworms that includes all the giant earthworms. Some vastly different species are just able to reach gargantuan sizes. Instead of focusing on giant earthworms as a whole, we’ll talk about some of the most well known giant earthworms living around the planet.

To start us off there are African giant earthworms. These earthworms are found in the Eastern Cape province in South Africa. African giant earthworms may be the longest living species that humans are aware of. Supposedly, the longest individual was more than twenty feet (6 meters) long, though on average these worms reach about four and a half feet (1.4 meters) in length. African giant earthworms can be more than half an inch (12.7 millimeters) thick and weigh more than three pounds (1.4 kilograms) which makes them a large sized meal for the snakes that eat them!

While African giant earthworms may hold the title as the longest living earthworms, a species from Australia is, in terms of averages, longer. Compared to the African giant earthworm’s 4.5 foot typical length, giant Gippsland earthworms who live in clay soils near the banks of streams and hail from the Victoria region of Australia come in two feet longer than African giant earthworms on average - giving giant Gippsland earthworms a general length of about six and a half feet (2 meters). That’s longer than most humans are tall! They’re also thicker than the African giants with body diameters of almost an inch (2.54 centimeters). Supposedly, when approaching the territory of one of these giant Australian worms, faint gurgling noises can be heard as they move through their burrows within the ground. Giant Gippsland earthworms even have a festival held annually in their honor!

In another part of Australia are large earthworms so colorful they might be mistaken for a piece of candy. The Prussian blue earthworm is named so because of its bright blue appearance. These giants can also reach more than six feet in length and are found in mountainous regions of Queensland Australia. What’s neat about these specific giant earthworms is that they leave behind glowing trails of mucus as they traverse volcanic soil.

On the other side of the world are more giant earthworms. Two species from the same genus found in the north western corner of America are able to reach more than three feet (0.9 meters) in length. These are the Oregon and Washington giant earthworms. Both of these worms are threatened by habitat loss and invasive species. They come out at night to eat plants above the ground and when disturbed they may let out an odor that’s similar to the smell of lilies.

And closing up our list, further south live giant earthworms who construct giant mounds of poop. Earthworms of this genus may also reach lengths of more than three feet and their poop mounds can be even larger. These mounds - made of castings, which is the fancy word for worm feces - may be more than fifteen feet (4.6 meters) across and seven feet (2.1 meters) tall. The mounds occur because the earthworms always poop in the same spot, and when one dies another moves in to replace it. These earthworms and their poop mounds are found in the floodplains of the Orinoco River in South America. The mounds give the worms breathing holes to be used when the area floods. As time goes on, these mounds may used by other animals as well as plant species.

This is only a handful of the giant earthworms living around our world! For more facts on giant earthworms, check out the links in the description. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today, and thank you for watching Animal Fact Files.