Kinabalu giant earthworm

Kinabalu giant earthworm
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Annelida
Class: Clitellata
Subclass: Oligochaeta
Order: Haplotaxida
Family: Megascolecidae
Genus: Pheretima
Species: P. darnleiensis
Binomial name
Pheretima darnleiensis
Fletcher, 1886

The Kinabalu giant earthworm, Pheretima darnleiensis, is a grey-blue coloured peregrine annelid native to Mount Kinabalu, Borneo and surrounding islands as well as New Guinea. On Mount Kinabalu, the animal grows to a length of approximately 70 cm and lives in burrows in the soft and thick soils around Paka Cave shelter, at an altitude of 3,000 m above sea level. The earthworm's segments are encirled by numerous setae and its skin has a greenish iridescent gloss. Amongst the Kinabalu earthworm's natural predators is another large annelid, the Kinabalu giant red leech. Both animals can only be seen during or after a heavy downpouring of rain.[1][2]

References

  1. Blakemore, R.J., C. Csuzdi, M.T. Ito, N. Kaneko, T. Kawaguchi & M. Schilthuizen 2007. Taxonomic status and ecology of Oriental Pheretima darnleiensis (Fletcher, 1886) and other earthworms (Oligochaeta : Megascolecidae) from Mt Kinabalu, Borneo. PDF (16.4 KiB) Zootaxa 1613: 23–44.
  2. Phillipps, A. & F. Liew 2000. Globetrotter Visitor's Guide – Kinabalu Park. New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, March 15, 2013. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.