Earthworm

The earthworm is a reddish-brown terrestrial invertebrate that inhabits the upper layer of moist soil.
During day time, they live in burrows made by boring and swallowing the soil.
In the gardens, they can be traced by their fecal deposits known as worm castings. * The typical Indian earthworms are %%Pheretima and Lumbricus.%%

Morphology:

Earthworms have long cylindrical bodies.
The body is divided into %%more than a hundred short segments which are similar (metameres about 100-120 in number).%%
The dorsal surface of the body is marked by a dark median mid-dorsal line (dorsal blood vessel) along the longitudinal axis of the body.
The ^^ventral surface is distinguished by genital openings (pores).^^
The anterior end consists of the mouth and the prostomium, a lobe that serves as a covering for the mouth and a wedge to force open cracks in the soil into which the earthworm may crawl. * The %%prostomium is sensory in function.%%
The ^^first body segment is called the peristomium (buccal segment) which contains the mouth.^^
In a mature worm, segments 14-16 are covered by a prominent dark band of glandular tissue called %%clitellum.%% * Thus the body is divisible into three prominent regions – ^^preclitellar, clitellar and postclitellar segments.^^
Four pairs of %%spermathecal apertures are situated on the ventrolateral sides of the intersegmental grooves, i.e., 5th -9th segments.%%
A single female genital pore is present in the mid-ventral line of the 14th segment.
A pair of male genital pores are present on the ventrolateral sides of the 18th segment.
^^Numerous minute pores called nephridiopores open on the surface of the body.^^
In each body segment, except the first, last, and clitellum, there are rows of S-shaped setae, embedded in the epidermal pits in the middle of each segment.
Setae can be extended or retracted. * %%Their principal role is in locomotion.%%

Anatomy:

The body wall of the earthworm is covered externally by a ^^thin non-cellular cuticle below which is the epidermis, two muscle layers (circular and longitudinal), and an innermost coelomic epithelium.^^ * The epidermis is made up of a single layer of columnar epithelial cells which contain secretory gland cells.
The alimentary canal is a straight tube that runs between the %%first to the last segment%% of the body.
A terminal mouth opens into the buccal cavity (1-3 segments) which leads into the ^^muscular pharynx.^^
A small narrow tube, the esophagus (5-7 segments), continues into a %%muscular gizzard%% (8-9 segments). * It helps in ^^grinding the soil particles^^ and decaying leaves, etc.
The stomach extends from 9-14 segments.
The food of the earthworm is %%decaying leaves and organic matter%% mixed with soil.
^^Calciferous glands, present in the stomach, neutralize the humic acid present in the humus.^^
The intestine starts from the 15th segment onwards and continues till the last segment.
A pair of short and conical intestinal caeca project from the intestine on the 26th segment.
The characteristic feature of the intestine after the 26th segment except the last 23rd-25th segments is the %%presence of an internal median fold of the dorsal wall called typhlosole.%% * This ^^increases the effective area^^ of absorption in the intestine.
The alimentary canal opens to the exterior by a small rounded aperture called the anus.
The %%ingested organic-rich soil passes through the digestive tract where digestive enzymes break down complex food into smaller absorbable units.%% * These simpler molecules are absorbed through intestinal membranes and are utilized.
^^Pheretima^^ exhibits a closed type of blood vascular system, consisting of blood vessels, capillaries, and the heart.
Due to a closed circulatory system, blood is confined to the heart and blood vessels. * Contractions keep blood circulating in one direction. Smaller blood vessels supply the gut, nerve cord, and body wall.
Blood glands are present on the 4th, 5th, and 6th segments. * They produce blood cells and hemoglobin which is dissolved in blood plasma. * Blood cells are phagocytic in nature.
%%Earthworms lack specialized breathing devices%%. * Respiratory exchange occurs through a ^^moist body surface^^ into the bloodstream.
The excretory organs occur as segmentally arranged coiled tubules called nephridia.

They are of three types: * ^^septal nephridia,^^ present on both the sides of intersegmental septa of segment 15 to the last that open into the intestine. * %%integumentary nephridia%%, attached to the lining of the body wall of segment 3 to the last that open on the body surface * ^^pharyngeal nephridia,^^ present as three paired tufts in the 4th, 5th, and 6th segments. * These different types of nephridia are basically similar in structure.

Nephridia regulate the volume and composition of body fluids. * A nephridium starts out as a funnel that collects excess fluid from the coelomic chamber. * The funnel connects with a tubular part of the nephridium which delivers the wastes through a pore to the surface of the body wall into the digestive tube.
The nervous system is basically represented by ganglia arranged segmentwise on the ventral paired nerve cord.
The nerve cord in the anterior region (3rd and 4th segments) bifurcates, laterally encircling the pharynx, and joins the cerebral ganglia dorsally to form a nerve ring.
The cerebral ganglia along with other nerves in the ring integrate sensory input as well as command muscular responses of the body.
The sensory system does not have eyes but does possess light and touch-sensitive organs (receptor cells) to distinguish the light intensities and to feel the vibrations in the ground.
%%Worms have specialized chemoreceptors (taste receptors) that react to chemical stimuli.%% * These sense organs are located on the anterior part of the worm.
The earthworm is ^^hermaphrodite^^ (bisexual), i.e., testes and ovaries are present in the same individual.
There are two pairs of testes present in the 10th and 11th segments. * Their vasa deferentia run up to the 18th segment where they join the prostatic duct. * Two pairs of accessory glands are present one pair each in the 17th and 19th segments. * The common prostate and spermatic duct (vasa deferentia) are open to the exterior by a pair of male genital pores on the ventrolateral side of the 18th segment. * Four pairs of spermathecae are located in the 6th-9th segments (one pair in each segment). * ==They receive and store spermatozoa during copulation.==
One pair of ovaries is attached at the inter-segmental septum of the 12th and 13th segments. * Ovarian funnels are present beneath the ovaries which continue into the oviduct, join together and open on the ventral side as a single median female genital pore on the 14th segment. * A mutual exchange of sperm occurs between two worms during mating.
One worm has to find another worm and they mate juxtaposing opposite gonadal openings and exchanging packets of sperms called spermatophores.
Mature sperm and egg cells and nutritive fluid are deposited in cocoons produced by the gland cells of the clitellum.
Fertilization and development occur within the cocoons which are deposited in the soil.
The ova (eggs) are fertilized by the sperm cells within the cocoon which then slip off the worm and are deposited in or on the soil.
The cocoon holds the worm embryos.
After about 3 weeks, each cocoon produces two to twenty baby worms with an average of four.
The development of earthworms is direct, i.e., there is no larva formed.
Earthworms are known as ‘friends of farmers’ because they make burrows in the soil and make it porous which helps in respiration and penetration of the developing plant roots.
The process of increasing the fertility of the soil by the earthworms is called vermicomposting.
They are also used as bait in game fishing