What better creature to feature for spooky season than a parasitic blood sucking worm with important ties to antiquated and horrifying medical practices? Although there are 680 described species of leech what we’re looking at today is the European medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis) which is the species most used in medical practices, as both the common and scientific name suggest.
Classification: Annelids
Giant Tube Worm (MIU Deep Sea Odyssey 2 by Kaiyodo)
5 (3 votes)
“Life will find a way.” These words, spoken in the Jurassic Park franchise, are so poetic and beautiful in their simplicity. They are also very true, as, no matter where you are in the world, there is liable to be life, even in the most inhospitable locations. Thermal vents in the pelagic zone seems a bad spot to live in, yet life has found a way to live in this harsh environment and reap the benefits, such as this review’s subject, the Giant Tube worm (Riftia pachyptila), an annelid that lives by these vents, harvesting the minerals they spew out.
Life Cycle of an Earthworm (Safariology by Safari Ltd.)
4.4 (5 votes)
Earthworms! Everyone is familiar with them in some capacity, whether they represent those vermiform creatures that come out onto the sidewalk after a rain storm, to your favorite bait used for fishing, to your garden partners in the compost heap, to the snack you see the robin plucking from the ground!