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tiny worm, riding on a worm

Annelid

Description:

I picked up a smallish worm, and when I looked closely I saw that it had and incredibly tiny worm as a passenger. The bigger worm was about three inches long. The tiny worm was almost invisible.

Habitat:

Mixed forest, about 8,000 feet (elevation).

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7 Comments

I think it's too big to be a nematode but I could be wrong. It reminds me of what I always class as 'grindal worms', Enchytraeus buchholzi or a similar species

ChunXingWong
ChunXingWong 11 years ago

Parasitism on a worm ?

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textless 12 years ago

Thanks martinl. Could the little worm be a soil nematode? The big one looks pretty earthwormy to me, but I know very little about worms. :)

MartinL
MartinL 12 years ago

I think this worm is a nematode, a kind of roundworn, common in leaf litter and different from an earthworm which is an annelid, or segmented worm.

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textless 12 years ago

Thanks for the comments, Josie and Eric. Isn't it strange? I don't think worms hang out with their young, but the little one sure does look like a baby worm. :)

EricEllison
EricEllison 12 years ago

do worms care for their young??

JosieKapral
JosieKapral 12 years ago

Wo. What an eye!

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Spotted by
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Colorado, USA

Spotted on Oct 23, 2011
Submitted on Nov 6, 2011

Spotted for Mission

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