Giant Palouse Earthworm. Image by Chris Baugher, courtesy of Wikipedia.
Status – Vulnerable
Actually thought to have already “Gone the way of the dinosaur” in the 1980s, this large species of earthworm was rediscovered this century. It truly is a giant among invertebrates – specimens are thought to grow to 1 metre in length, though half this size is more common. Milky-white or translucent in appearance, this annelid is restricted to the western states of Washington and Idaho in the USA. It is associated with a particular type of grassland called Palouse (hence the species’ name), which is noted for the fertility of its soils due to deposits of volcanic ash and organic matter. Unfortunately, this has resulted in Palouse grassland being transformed for agriculture and reduced to less than 1% of its original extent, with the giant earthworm suffering as a consequence. The remnants of this habitat that are not protected are threatened by agricultural conversion, urban sprawl and pollution, while the species itself seems to be impacted by introduced species of earthworm. Despite the fact that this species of native earthworm has been rarely recorded, efforts by local conservation organisations to press for legislation protecting it as endangered have been unsuccessful – probably also why it is classed as Vulnerable and not Endangered by the IUCN. Authorities claim that data on the species is insufficient to warrant protection and that what data exists is based on hearsay. How conservation biologists are meant to gather sufficient data on a species that has only been collected a few times this century is hard to determine, but this stance of government legislators highlights how official avenues for protecting species can easily be impeded or corrupted. Perhaps the species suffers as a consequence of not being more visible and charismatic, but it is truly lamentable that a species that is so clearly in decline gets so little official protection.
GOING THE WAY OF THE DINOSAURS... 