Monday 1 August 2016

zoology - The biggest underground living animal


It's easy to find information about the biggest animals at land / at sea / in the air. But what was the biggest underground-living animal that ever existed?



  • No animals that were forced to live underground (e.g. pit ponies)

  • The animal should live at least 95% of its life under the earth (e.g. foxes)


There are two possible answers:




  1. By length

  2. By mass


My first guess was a mole



Answer



Microchaetus rappi Microchaetus rappi, the African giant earthworm, is a large earthworm in the Microchaetidae family, the largest of the segmented worms (commonly called earthworms). It averages about 1.36 m (4.5 ft) in length, but can reach a length of as much as 6.7 m (22 ft) and can weigh over 1.5 kg (3.3 lb).(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microchaetus_rappi)


Giant Gippsland earthworm These giant earthworms average 1 metre (3.3 ft) long and 2 centimetres (0.79 in) in diameter and can reach 3 metres (9.8 ft) in length; however, their body is able to expand and contract making them appear much larger. On average they weigh about 200 grams (0.44 lb). They have a dark purple head and a blue-grey body, and about 300 to 400 body segments.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Gippsland_earthworm)


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