There are such creatures on Earth, the number of which people may not even guess. Flat and roundworms belong to just such a group of animals. In these two orders, there are more than a million species that live in both hemispheres of the planet, and they can be found in water bodies, in the ground, and also on plants. There are a lot of interesting facts about round and flatworms, and there are more of them every day, since not only zoologists, but also physicians pay great attention to the study of these groups.
How many of them
Appearing several hundred million years ago, these groups of animals have changed without stopping. The number of varieties became more and more, and among them were those that could successfully survive to this day.
Despite the fact that these creatures are considered quite primitive, their organization and way of life provided them with high stability against the background of changing environmental conditions. Modern invertebrate zoologists have described in detail more than 24 thousand species of tapeworms and more than a million species of roundworms or nematodes, as they are also called. But even according to the most optimistic calculations, this is far from the final figure, as discoveries are constantly ongoing. This is due to the fact that representatives of the detachments are settled on Earth in the most diverse and hard-to-reach places. For example, they are able to live in soil at a depth of about 1 km and withstand temperatures up to 100°C.
Number on square meter can amaze the imagination favorable conditions warm waters fresh water bodies, the number of nematodes can reach up to 1 million specimens per 1 m 3.
Dangerous guests
This dangerous guest can enter the human intestine when eating fish that has not undergone thorough heat treatment. Fans of real Japanese sushi, for which raw fish meat is used, are at the greatest risk.
Worms are primitive organisms, but their primitiveness is quite justified and helps these creatures to survive without unnecessary problems. For example, flatworms do not have a digestive system at all, but this does not mean at all that they do not eat. It's just that the absorption of the necessary nutrients occurs over almost the entire surface of the body through ordinary osmosis. They also do not have a respiratory system, since they have mastered life in the absence of oxygen.
An interesting fact is that most varieties of flatworms will perfectly perform the necessary vital functions even after their body is turned inside out.
This means that the tissues are not very specialized, so they can pass all the nutrients in both directions.
Nematodes are much more complex in structure, this is due to the fact that they appeared later than flatworms. They have not only organ systems, but also a gender division. It has been established that males and females most often differ in appearance and size.
An interesting feature is the presence of a hydroskeleton in the detachment of roundworms. The so-called cavities filled with liquid, which allow you to maintain a constant shape. Even though the absence of a hard skeleton seems to be a sign of fragility to most people, these animals do not need a strong internal framework, as mechanical damage is not a common problem for them.
Large parents
In the external environment, flat and roundworms are quite vulnerable. And in order to maintain their numbers on high level, they need to reproduce at a very high rate. It is amazing that the tapeworm produces about 11 billion eggs in its lifetime. Far from every egg will be able to develop into a sexually mature individual: more than 99.9% will die without getting into an environment suitable for life.
An interesting fact concerns schistosomes. These representatives of flatworms are monogamous, which is no longer found in this detachment. But it's not about loyalty or love forever, everything is much simpler. Female schistosomes are much smaller than males, so they live in a special pocket on the body of their partner.
It is impractical to look for another female when a sexual partner is always near you, therefore these two individuals mate only with each other until death.
Incredible abilities
The physiology of flatworms and roundworms at first glance is primitive, but studying it in more detail, one can discover interesting facts. For example, one admires the amazing ability to recover from any damage. Everyone knows that an earthworm can be cut into several parts and get several full-fledged specimens. But flatworms in this respect left their more developed relative far behind. The most unique is the planarian species: its representatives can clone themselves even after 99% of the body is destroyed.
The most amazing experiment, which led to the complete recovery of divided organisms, was to cut the planarian into 280 pieces. Regeneration made it possible to restore each individual particle to a full-fledged organism, but they were all very small - only 0.005 cm.
And even that's not all: if environment conditions change dramatically to those that threaten the normal existence of the planaria, then it can fall apart. After the danger has passed and the conditions are right again, these separate parts are able to combine. Sometimes some components fall out, but this does not affect the physiology of the newly assembled organism.
Silent conversation
And the most interesting fact concerns a recent discovery made by specialists from the California Institute of Technology. It turned out that roundworms are capable of communication. This fact can turn the existing ideas about lower animals. It is likely that the data obtained will force zoologists to take a fresh look at the general taxonomy of animals and make the necessary adjustments.
Some data obtained in the course of research on flatworms, in literally words plunged scientists into shock. Such a discovery was that these creatures are able to receive information learned by the organism that they ate. To better understand what is at stake, you need to familiarize yourself with the results of laboratory studies.
The experiment consisted in the fact that planarians of one generation were initially trained to pass the maze. When it began to turn out well, they were ground to a puree state, after which they were fed to the next worms. This new group showed excellent maze traversal just as their trained predecessors had.
Another amazing ability: despite the very primitive nervous system, worms are able to develop reflexes throughout their lives. In addition, zoologists were able to establish that the reflex that appeared would be preserved in both new individuals if the old specimen was divided in half. Why and how this happens is a big mystery for modern science, which they really hope to solve in the near future.
Meat eaters and vegetarians
Even in the 7th grade, according to the school curriculum, children get acquainted with flat and roundworms. During the presentations, much attention is paid to the impact these animals have on human health. But it is often forgotten to mention that these groups bring great harm and agriculture and hence the economy of the country.
An even sadder picture is with vegetables. IN different years more than half of the onion crop is spoiled by the onion nematode. After the potato nematode infects potatoes, 40% of the crop harvested in the fall is wasted in storage even under ideal storage conditions. Up to 20% of the beet is lost due to the defeat of the beet nematode. If we translate these data into national figures, then the scale of losses will amaze anyone.
/ 5 ( 6 votes)Worms are a huge class of the animal kingdom. They are ugly though appearance, unpleasant to the senses, but very interesting to study. What interesting, perhaps, many will say. In this article, we will look at many facts about worms that will not leave anyone indifferent.
Annelids get their name from the bristles that completely cover the body of the animal. Most individuals have a head with tentacles and eyes containing bristles, antennae, and tactile whiskers.
The most interesting representative of the annelids is the earthworm, which we will consider in more detail. 
Earthworms are part of the existence of life on the planet. They are food for rats, moles, toads, fish and birds. An earthworm is 82 percent of the purest protein, they are eaten not only by animals, but also by people. If you eat them constantly, then the level of cholesterol in the human body will significantly decrease. Moreover, the earthworm cleans the soil in which we grow food.
An earthworm is made up of muscles and the skin that covers them. They don't have lungs or a nose, they breathe through the pores of their skin. They do not have eyes, but they are very sensitive to the sun. They are hermaphrodites i.e. bisexual. An earthworm has 5 to 9 hearts. 
There is an earthworm museum in Australia. It is an attraction, externally made identical to the 100-meter worm. Inside, everything is also made in the form of the insides of this animal. Worms lovers can walk and climb inside on all fours. 
Many people think that when you cut an annelids in half, you end up with two worms. However, it is not. Only the part with the head will survive. The cut off tail will die. The only one who can restore a full-fledged organism completely from its insignificant small part is flatworm. As the saying goes, divide and multiply. 
The largest worms on the planet are living in Australia on the hills of Gippsland, they can grow up to 4 meters in length. 
Earthworms have the amazing ability to mate for hours. In this feature, they surpass even humans. One sexual intercourse can last up to two hundred minutes! And studies show that during the mating season, the worms "walk" to each other's holes up to fifteen times in a row. 
These worms for the winter period and the period of drought, like some other animals, fall into suspended animation. They burrow deeper into the ground and hibernate. With the onset of heat, the worms wake up and continue their activities to supply the earth with the necessary substances, as if nothing had happened.
It turns out that the earthworm lives in groups, and also makes an important decision through a "dialogue" with other cohabitants. 
According to some studies, they can communicate and influence the behavior of relatives through touch. This feature makes it possible to collectively decide where to move the whole herd. Summing up, we can say that the earthworm is a social animal that leads a group lifestyle. 
The flatworm is the causative agent of many diseases. He does not need oxygen for life, he receives everything he needs from the orgasm of his master. To such dangerous species include tapeworm, bovine tapeworm, liver fluke. Such worms not only harm the body with their stay, they can grow over 20 meters in length and completely fill some organs of the host animal with their body. 
The life cycle of flatworms is also not small. For example, a bright representative of the bovine tapeworm can exist in the human body for over 18 years. Over the course of its lifetime, this animal will produce over 10 billion eggs. 
Flatworms, like many other worms, are hermaphrodites. The mating process is the same for them: during the battle, each individual tries to inject a little sperm under the skin of the enemy in order to subsequently become the parent of offspring. In some species of this worm, the process of reproduction is very interesting. The meeting of two sobes takes the form of fencing with a dagger-shaped penis for penetration. 
Another amazing representative of this fauna is the earthworm. Hand on heart, we can say that it has existed since time immemorial, when the Earth was inhabited by dinosaurs. At that time it was "fashionable" to call worms anyone who did not have legs, whether it was a snake, or larvae, or even a dragon.
The earthworm is probably the most slippery creature on the planet. There are representatives that reach a length of more than three meters. One such worm is the Australian earthworm Megascolides australis. And here is Driloleirus americanus from North America, although three times smaller in size, has a different record - it is able to dig to a depth of more than 5 meters. 
And he was considered an extinct animal for a long time, but it turned out that he set records for burying all this time. Its body is pale pink in color and smells like a lily. There is another representative of the earthworm, the length of which exceeds one and a half meters. This is Spenceriella gigantea from New Zealand. Although he is not the longest, he has an interesting ability - his body glows in the dark. If you find it at night, you can use it instead of a flashlight. 
MATERIAL FOR INFORMATION STAND AND FOR USE ON CLASS HOURS As a result of the vital activity of earthworms, soil layers in the fields increase annually by an average of half a centimeter. Exactly earthworms are responsible for the fact that over time, ancient buildings, ancient castles and statues sink into the soil, from where archaeologists then dig them out. The weight of a herd of cows grazing in the meadow is less than the weight of the worms crawling in the soil under their feet. The ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra declared earthworms sacred. For their export from Egypt, the death penalty was due. The lumps of processed earth that the earthworm secretes are called COPROLITES.
Breeding earthworms to improve soil fertility is called VERMICULTURE. Earthworms have developed sense touch and smell. They have sensitive cells in their skin that allow them to distinguish between light and dark. Earthworms have great muscular strength. They can drag pebbles and soil particles up to 20 times their weight. In case of danger, the earthworm secretes mucus with a special smell that warns other worms. Worms, like chickens, swallow small stones along with food so that food is better crushed in the stomach. In Australia, giant earthworms live, the length of which can reach 3 meters. 2
Earthworms (or earthworms) belong to the type of annelids, a class of oligochaetes. They live on all continents except Antarctica. Worms spend their whole lives in the thickness of the soil, digging their moves in it. If the soil is loose, then the worm makes a move, “boring” between lumps, and if it is solid, then the worm passes it through its intestines. During the day, the worm passes through itself an amount of soil equal to the weight of its body. Most often, worms are found at a depth of 10-20 cm. But the length of their moves can reach 2 meters. And some species of worms dig holes to a depth of about 8 meters! The number of worms depends on the composition of the soil. On poor soils, about 10-20 worms live per square meter of land, while on rich soils, the number of worms can be from 100 to 20,000. Worms' moves are of two types: ordinary moves and permanent holes. Regular worm moves 5
breaks in the ground, mainly in the process of feeding. The worm “eats” its way with its front end, and processed products immediately come out behind it, closing the passage behind it. Permanent burrows persist for a long time. The worm strengthens the walls of the passage with a special mucous substance, and they become waterproof. It is these passages that benefit plants: through them, like pipes, water and air penetrate deep into the soil. Earthworms also feed on plant foods. They grab it with their mouths, drag it into their burrow and eat it underground. In addition, they drag leaves and pieces of soil into their holes to “plug” the inlet, just as we plug a bottle with a cork. Because of this, mink worms are not so easy to detect, it protects them from birds. 6
During the day, earthworms like to rest near the entrance to the burrow, anchoring themselves there with their bristles, so that in case of any danger they instantly get inside. Earthworms are nocturnal animals. They avoid daylight and emerge from their burrows only at night. But during the rain you can often see how they massively come to the surface during the day. That is why they were given the name "earthworms". The reason for this behavior is still unknown to scientists. There is a hypothesis that, although the worm can live in the water for several weeks, but the water, flooding the minks of the worms, prevents them from breathing normally and they have to go to the surface. Another hypothesis says that the sound of raindrops causes fear in worms, since 7
reminiscent of the sound of the steps of their worst enemy - the mole. And this fear drives the worms out of their holes. In addition, some scientists believe that the worms simply use the wet weather to move not underground, but on its surface - after all, this significantly saves their strength. With the onset of drought or cold weather, the worms go deep into the ground, to a depth of about 2 meters, and there they hibernate. They sleep in a specially dug sleeping chamber, curled up in a ball. Worms have an amazing ability to regenerate: if the worm's back part of the body is torn off, then after a while the damaged half will be restored. These are used by moles, preparing themselves stocks of worms for the future. The moles bite off the heads of the worms, and the bodies are stored in pantries, where they are kept fresh, busy restoring the lost part of the body. 8
Earthworms, eating organic remains, serve as "orderlies" of the soil, turning tons of dead organic material accumulated on its surface into substances available for plant nutrition. In their stomachs, the food eaten is mixed with the soil, enriched with nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon, magnesium, potassium, and is excreted in a crushed form. Special glands in the worm's digestive tract reduce the acidity of the soil resulting from the decomposition of organic residues. Thus, the worms turn the earth into humus - organic fertilizer. These are real biofactories for the production of fertilizers! 9
Earthworms play a huge role in preparing the soil for plant life. No wonder they are called "plowmen" and "little plows." Worm burrows help water and air to penetrate deep into the soil. The coprolites of the worm give the soil looseness and make it structure for the growth and nutrition of the roots. Earthworms play an important role in the nutrition of animals and birds. As a protein-rich product, they can be used as food supplements in poultry farms. And in some countries, worms are used as food by people. In our country, earthworms are most often used by fishermen as bait for catching fish. 10
If the earth is loose and pliable, then the worm bores it. To do this, the worm makes its front end thin, “gropes” for some gap among the lumps of earth, immerses the “head” there, and then this front end of the worm contracts and becomes thick. The earth moves apart from this, allowing the body of the worm to crawl “one step at a time”. And then everything repeats again. Sometimes he resorts to another method: he tears off pieces of earth with his lips and swallows it. It swallows to the limit and crawls to the surface of the earth, onto which it throws out the soil that has passed through the intestines. But on the way to the dungeon, a particularly dense and dry soil was caught - the worm moistens it with drops of saliva. A piece of soil gets wet, the worm swallows it. eleven
1. Earthworms are hermaphrodites. That is, they are both female and male. But they still need two individuals to reproduce. Before laying eggs, the worms pair up and exchange seminal fluid with each other, after which they crawl away. 2. After that, the girdle of the worm secretes a viscous mucus - a muff. The sperm of another worm gets into it. 3. The worm, contracting, pushes the sleeve to the front end of the body, laying eggs in it, which are fertilized there. 4. Having slipped off the worm, the clutch remains in the mink and hardens in the air, forming a cocoon. It develops eggs. 5. After 18-25 days, small worms come out of the eggs. 12
Compiled by: Sharlay N.A. 13
Earthworms are truly contemporaries of dinosaurs. They appeared 120 million years ago, while the human race is only 250,000 years old. In ancient times, it was customary to call almost every creature a "worm", if it turned out to be legless; be it a caterpillar, a larva or a snake. So in Anglo-German folklore, dragons were called worms.
The well-known Charles Darwin, more than 100 years ago, studied earthworms for 39 years. One of the slimiest creatures in the world is the earthworm.
There are about 2,700 varieties of earthworms.
Australian variety Megascolides australis - can reach more than 3 meters in length. Also, these large earthworms are also known for the fact that when they are buried in the ground, they make gurgling sounds.
The nemertine marine worms Lineus longissimus are the longest worms. Evidence of this is a specimen 55 meters long, which was found on the coast of Scotland in 1864.
The African earthworm Microchaetus rappi, despite growing to almost 7 meters, weighs only 1.5 kg.
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The New Zealand worm Spenceriella gigantea, whose length is 1.5 meters maximum. This species does not have a gigantic size, but with its help you can read a book in the dark, as it glows.
Long considered extinct, the North American palus worm, Driloleirus americanus, has the ability to burrow to a depth of 5 m. It is pale pink in color and smells like lilies.
In 2005, Norwegian scientists proved that hooked worms feel absolutely no pain or discomfort.
Worms can become a source of human immortality, since scientists recently discovered the pha-4 gene in worms, a variety of Nematodes, that slows down the aging of the human body.
To survive after heavy rains, worms crawl out of the ground.
In the soil, the number of earthworms can reach up to 400 individuals per square meter. Two earthworms can clean and process up to 1kg. soil per day.
Worms are "hermaphrodites", which allows them to breed both with a partner and on their own.
If an earthworm is cut in half, it will survive and regenerate itself. Since he has a certain number of sets of vital organs. If you cut the worm with a center shift, then only most of. Well, if you cut the worm into several pieces, it will die.
We often meet worms on the pavement after rain or in the garden. Worms are a very interesting animal species to study. This large class has amazing features, and their way of life is not yet well understood. We present interesting facts about worms.
Marine life
ringed
Ringed worms are made up of a large number segments in the form of rings, hence the name. Habitats - the earth, in salty sea water and rivers.
One of the types of annelids - leeches are actively used in medicine. Leeches drink blood in places where it is needed. With the help of leeches, hematomas are treated, they are used for hypertension and blood clots. Leeches secrete a blood-thinning substance, so they can get satiated faster, and time is very important, because the victim can notice them and then this annelids may not be healthy.
These funny aquatic animals have an anesthetic ingredient in their saliva that prevents you from feeling the bite. This allows you to quietly drink the blood of animals that enter the water to drink.
Rain
Earthworm - very interesting view. By structure, it is just a group of muscles in soft skin. It breathes the entire surface of the body. Inside it beats up to 9 hearts. The opinion that if you cut a worm, there will be two living halves, is erroneous. The head part will continue to live, and the second, tail, will die.
The earthworm is very slippery, one might even say that it is the most slippery animal. It is covered with a thick mucus that helps it move through its burrows and can live at depths of up to five meters. They live in complete darkness, so they have no organs of vision, but they are perfectly oriented by touch.
This representative of the class of worms is very surprising and useful. Small rodents and fish readily feed on earthworms. As an excellent source of pure protein, worms serve as food for animals and people (people can eat them in extreme conditions when there is no other food).
For gardeners, worms are invisible helpers that actively loosen the soil with their numerous tunnels. At night, the worms crawl to the surface to feed. It has been established that earthworms clean the soil well from organic remains, make the soil fertile.
IN winter time year or in case of drought, the worms hibernate, burrowing deep into the soil. The earthworm lives in colonies. Scientific studies have shown that they can be classified as social animals leading a group lifestyle.
flat
In the human body, these individuals are able to live for almost twenty years. Over the years, he will lay millions of eggs. Once in the ground, eggs can live in difficult environmental conditions for many years.
There are many ways to treat worms. One of them is a decoction of wormwood. It is effective, since wormwood is quite toxic, but it has two drawbacks - worms may not die, but run away from the action of wormwood, spreading where this bitter decoction will not overtake them. Another, more serious drawback is that wormwood is very toxic and, relative to the person himself, you can be seriously poisoned or even die by consuming too much wormwood decoction.
