Scientists find 2 living specimens of giant Palouse earthworm

Scientists found that an adult worm measures up to 10 to 12 inches when fully extended, while the juvenile worm extends up to 6 to 7 inches only.

"One of my colleagues suggested we rename it the 'larger-than average Palouse earthworm,'" said soil scientist Jodi Johnson-Maynard at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, who lead the search.

The worms found have translucent bodies with pink heads and bulbous tails.

"The most important thing about this to me is this is the first time we have an intact, live specimen that we can get DNA from and make a taxonomic description to the species level," added Johnson-Maynard.

The first ever giant Palouse earthworm was reported in 1897 in The American Naturalist by Frank Smith. His whole work on the species was based on the samples sent by R.W. Doane of Washington State University in Pullman.

The two specimens were found by an Idaho student Shan Xu, and Karl Umiker, a research support scientist on March 27.

Giant earthworm sightings before this discovery
The first ever giant Palouse earthworm was reported in 1897 in The American Naturalist by Frank Smith. His whole work on the species was based on the samples sent by R.W. Doane of Washington State University in Pullman.

Then in late 1980s two live specimens were last found by a scientist James Johnson at the University of Idaho near Moscow forest and till date those were the last living specimens found.

Again in 2005 an Idaho graduate student found the worm while digging a hole but the worm got cut into half since the student was not expecting to find anything there.

After the incident, conservation groups petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to enlist the worm species as endangered. However, the agency refused to enlist the worm saying that there was not enough evidence to prove that it’s an endangered species.

Farmers worried about government action
It’s not that farmers do not worry about the protection of endangered earthworm species.

But they are worried that they will lose the freedom to use their land the way they want to, if government comes and tells them to do certain things differently to save the endangered species.

“I have concerns. There's great potential for loss of freedom of what you can do with your land if the government comes in and says, 'Well, you have to do such and such, or you can't do such and such because we have to protect the giant Palouse earthworm,’” said a farmer and a member of Farm Bureau in Idaho, Craig Fleener.