The devil worm is nicknamed from its scientific name, Halicephalobus mephisto, after the character of legend who emerges from hell to bargain for Faust's soul.
Devil's worm: Measuring about 0.5 millimeters, these tiny nematodes are the deepest-living terrestrial multicellular organisms on the planet.
subterranean habitat
In addition, two species, Halicephalobus mephisto and Plectus aquatilis, which inhabit subterranean water seeps as deep as 3.6 km (2.2 miles) beneath Earth's surface, are the deepest-living multicellular organisms known.
Last year an expedition to the Mariana Trench made history by conducting the deepest crewed dive ever completed as it descended 10,927 metres into the Challenger Deep.
The largest animal known ever to have lived is confirmed to be the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus).
The Giant Gippsland Earthworm Megascolides australis is only found in small areas of South and West Gippsland, Victoria. It is one of the largest earthworms in the world, often exceeding one metre in length.
Some Australian native earthworms grow to an enormous size. Besides the well-known 'Gippsland Giant', Megascolides australis, cited in the Guinness Book of Records at 3 metres, others also grow large.
The largest worm in the world is the giant Gippsland earthworm, which can grow to be 9.8 feet long. The largest worm in the world is the giant Gippsland earthworm (Megasolides australis).
Beachworms are widely distributed along the eastern and south-eastern coasts of Australia. They are commonly found from Yeppoon in Queensland to Noarlunga in South Australia (Paxton 1986). Beachworms often have a patchy distribution and prefer open beach sections that have gentle slopes and long swash periods.
Usually called the velvet worm because of its soft texture, the velvet worm is not really a worm. A very attractive little creature, it is possibly one of the strangest animals around. Most species are no more than 4cm long but a few do reach over 10cm.
Don't be fooled though, they make up for it with the interesting aspects they do have. Like five hearts that squeeze two blood vessels to push blood throughout their little bodies. Earthworms have mucus and little hairs covering their skin that allows them to move through different types of soil.
They might sense something, but it is not painful and does not compromise their well-being." The government called for the study on pain, discomfort and stress in invertebrates to help in the planned revision of Norway's animal protection law.
Planarian worms have amazed scientists with their apparently limitless ability to regenerate. Researchers have been studying their ability to replace aged or damaged tissues and cells in a bid to understand the mechanisms underlying their longevity.
The earthworms of Australia
The new Broken Hill species is not only sufficiently different anatomically and remote from other Australian earthworms, so as to warrant erection of a new genus (Aridulodrilus), but its occurrence in such a low rainfall environment is also highly unusual.
Although Australia has over 1000 species of native earthworms, Gippsland is home to possibly the largest and undoubtedly the most famous of all earthworms - the Giant Gippsland Earthworm.
Canary Worm, (Fletchamia sugdeni) at the Dandenong Police Paddocks Reserve. A thin pale yellow worm with a body about 75 mm long. The pointy head end is brownish. The bright yellow colour is likely aposematic coloration (denoting colour or markings serving to warn or repel predators).
Perhaps Australia's most remarkable creature is a gentle, extremely delicate colossus few have had the privilege of glimpsing: the giant Gippsland earthworm, which can grow to some 6 feet long. Give it a stretch--only if it's already dead, you chucklehead--and it can easily double in length.
Earthworms have some natural enemies such as ants, centipedes, birds, snakes, toads, carabid beetles, and nematodes.
Australian Black Worms are a natural food that nature provides and are readily taken by aquatic creatures and a real treat for fish. An excellent high protein food great for both Marine and Freshwater fish. We have them available in a loose form and also in cubes.
Methuselah, a Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) in the White Mountains of California, has been measured by ring count to be 4,854 years old. It is therefore the oldest known living individual non-clonal tree in the world.
Bacteria, the Smallest of Living Organisms - PMC.
That's right, four out of every five animals on earth are nematode worms. Microscopic soil nematodes in action. Microscopic soil nematodes in action. A new study of soil nematodes co-authored by Adams reveals that there are 57 billion of them for every single living human being — much greater than previously estimated.