In 1986, there were nearly 4 million cases a year in 20 countries across south Asia and Africa. These casts are rich in nutrients, notably nitrogen and phosphorus, and they are often left in the worm burrows. What makes a Guinness World Records title? Fossil evidence shows that earthworm-like creatures have been around for at least a half a billion years, surviving the mass extinction of animals about 65 million years ago that finished off the dinosaurs, among others.

The way some worms tunnel also helps to move fertilizer applications below soil where they can be utilized by the plants more effectively. Although the giant Gippsland earthworm is the largest earthworm species on the planet, the single largest earthworm ever found did not belong to this species. Microchaeta Rappi, Beddard (Lumbricus microchetus, Rapp), p.274, Benham, Studies on Earthworms, Part II. The genus Microchaetidae is classified and grouped through a key that details anatomic features of each genii. Darwin also noted the amazing ability of earthworms to bury things in the soil, even entire buildings as they gradually process soil underneath and around the buildings having it sink deeper and deeper over time. Due to the thin-walls and vascular density of this region, when living or recently deceased it is a red colour in appearance. It is semi-aquatic, living in swamps and mudflats in its native region of Louisiana. Worms are not glamorous creatures that are especially loved by humans, but they play a vital role in our ecosystem, which, as humans, we directly benefit from. Fetida translates roughly to foul-smelling, which is a reference to that bad-smelling liquid the worm produces when it is handled. It is native to the United States and is distributed across Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana, and Illinois.

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