Anisochaeta gigantea
Anisochaeta gigantea (formerly Spenceriella gigantea or Celeriella gigantea),[1][2][3] commonly called the North Auckland worm, is a rare giant annelid of the family Megascolecidae, endemic to New Zealand.
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| Species: | A. gigantea |
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| Anisochaeta gigantea (Benham, 1906) | |
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The North Auckland worm is New Zealand's largest, reaching 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) long, and 11 mm (0.43 in) in diameter. Its burrows are up to 20 mm (0.79 in) in diameter, and reach a depth of 3.5 m (11 ft).[4]
The type locality is on Little Barrier Island on a plateau 200 metres (660 ft) above sea level in forest subsoil.[4] Under both the New Zealand Threat Classification System and IUCN Redlist it is classed a "Data Deficient".[5]
References
- Blakemore, R.J. (2006). "Checklist of New Zealand earthworms updated from Lee (1959)" (PDF). Annelida Website.
- Blakemore, R.J. (2012). "On Schmarda's lost earthworm and some newly found New Zealand species". Journal of Species Research 1(2): 105-132.
- Blakemore, R.J. (2014). "Miscellaneous Earthworm types in British Museum of Natural History, London" (PDF). Opuscula Zoologica 45(2): 119-155.
- Lee, K. E. (1959). The earthworm fauna of New Zealand. Wellington: NZ Department of Scientific & Industrial Research.
- Blakemore, R.J. (2017). "Anisochaeta gigantea". IUCN Redlist.
External links
Wikispecies has information related to Anisochaeta gigantea.
- The North Auckland worm discussed in RNZ Critter of the Week, 14 Aug 2020
- Royal Society of New Zealand - Studies on the Earthworm Fauna of New Zealand. III
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