Beautiful Japanese Earthworm
Enjoying nature with children in the foothills of the Japan Southern Alps. Giant earthworms are legendary in Japan and may have helped spark the interest in ultra-sized monsters which were once a hallmark of Japanese cinema. Reports of enormous ground burrowing beasts were recorded in official records as early as the 18th century, and worms measuring 3 to 5 meters (10 to 15 feet) in length have been spotted in such areas as Hyogo and Okayama prefectures. Unverified reports of still larger worms include testimony of two men who claim to have discovered a piece of a worm measuring 30 cm (1 foot) long and 20 cm (8 inches) in diameter. They calculated the size of the beast to be roughly 10 meters (33 feet)! While hearsay reports must be treated with caution the fact remains that the country of Japan is home to some of the largest ground burrowing creatures on the planet.
Worms (vermes) are invertebrates found throughout much of the world and include a wide variety of terrestrial and aquatic species. Most people are familiar with the earth-burrowing worms so popular with fishermen and gardeners though worm species are adapted to a wide variety of careers; including peaceful vegetarians, aggressive hunters and secretive parasites of plant and animals (including humans). The term “worm” is commonly used in referring to animals which are not true worms, such as insect grubs and centipedes. True worms are collected into roughly a dozen phyla containing hundreds of thousands of species.
See more worm and worm relation videos below:
Japan Mountain Leech vs. Giant Earthworm
Giant Japanese Mountain Toad
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