off to the garden to eat worms.... Earthworms (Family Lumbricidae)
The Earthworm is a type of annelid, which is the phylum including all segmented worms, with over 22,000 extant species which includes ragworms, earthworms, and leeches.
Worms from the Lumbricidae family make up the majority of earthworms found in China, despite not being native to the area. They get around using parapodia (lateral outgrowths or protrusions from the body) and are important in aeration and enriching of soil. They have a tube-within-a-tube body, and are externally segmented with corresponding internal segmentation although its digestive system runs the length of its body.
They maintain their structure with a hydrostatic skeleton which basically means they use fluid pressure to keep their shape.
The earthworm is a decomposer, feeding mainly in the leaf litter. Although considered invasive in some regions (competing with other organisms and altering the ecology) they are mainly seen as as highly beneficial by ecologists and Gardners.
They breathe through their skin and they are hermaphrodites: each carrying male and female reproductive organs so each will exchange sperm and fertilise each other's eggs. Any individual can fertilise the other, which greatly increases their chances of reproducing. After fertilization takes place, and the egg deposited in the soil, the young earthworm will hatch in just a few weeks and begin its life in the soil.
Do any of you remember the nursery/kids rhyme of the title?
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