The first reaction, to the question: "What is the longest animal?", I would like to answer - a giraffe. After a little thought, you remember the whale. Someone might argue that there is blue jellyfish which is even bigger. These are all delusions. Without a doubt, the worms will be the record holders.
Until the end of the 18th century, it was classified under this name rather big type animal kingdom. Later, zoologists disbanded it and created a number of new types.
Classification of worms
The Animal Kingdom today includes large group, under common name- Protostomes that do not form a separate rank. What is commonly called worms are united by 8 types. Among them - Volosatiki, Priapulids, Sipunculids, as well as Gnotostomulids with Scrapes, are of little interest to us. But the remaining 3 are worth paying attention to:
Everyone knows earthworms... These gardeners do not get tired of plowing the land, constantly aerating it. Few have dealt with the question - what are the biggest earthworms... There is perhaps no area in the world where these ringed animals are not found. At favorable conditions live up to 10 years. Only by the sixth year is this individual able to lay eggs. The larvae appear a year later. All this time they grow. On the Australian continent, there are 3-meter giants. Photos of the world's largest earthworms are simply amazing. At first glance, they can be confused with a snake.
Medicine knows the fact that 17-meter long worms were removed from the human body. And this is not the biggest
The photo of such a giant is amazing. The broad tapeworm can live up to 20 years, constantly increasing in size. The carrier is deprived of the opportunity to live normally, his body is depleted to the limit. Infection most often occurs through poorly processed fish.
Bovine tapeworm
A very unpleasant animal lives in the tropics - the Dragon. The worm gets to a person through water, gnaws through the intestinal wall and settles in various organs. After reaching puberty, females move to the subcutaneous tissue.
As soon as a person is at the water, leaning out, the worm throws out numerous larvae. With age, such animals grow up to 80 cm. On the human body, numerous, easily opening pustules are formed, which cause unpleasant itching and serve as a place for the penetration of a secondary infection.
Human roundworm
Ascaris is also used as a carrier. Giant size these animals are no different maximum size no more than 40 cm. But their fertility is striking. The female is capable of laying up to 240 thousand eggs every day. Eggs that come out are very difficult to kill. They are capable of waiting for their owner up to 12 years. Under the right conditions, they do not need an intermediate carrier. The larvae develop well on their own, without leaving the egg. They get to humans through poorly washed vegetables and fruits, as well as contaminated water. Coming out of the eggs, for a start, begin to migrate through the intestines of a person.
Larvae can be found in the heart, liver, lungs, and even the brain. They are called the most various diseases... After a certain stage of development, they return to the stomach through saliva, where they grow to adult animals. The circle is closed.
Everyone knows earthworms. These gardeners do not get tired of plowing the land, constantly aerating it. Few people dealt with the question - what are the largest earthworms. There is perhaps no area in the world where these ringed animals are not found. Under favorable conditions, they live up to 10 years. Only by the sixth year is this individual able to lay eggs. The larvae appear a year later. All this time they grow. On the Australian continent, there are 3-meter giants. Photos of the world's largest earthworms are simply amazing. At first glance, they can be confused with a snake.
Medicine knows the fact that 17-meter long worms were removed from the human body. And this is not the biggest worm in man.
The photo of such a giant is amazing. The broad tapeworm can live up to 20 years, constantly increasing in size. The carrier is deprived of the opportunity to live normally, his body is depleted to the limit. Infection most often occurs through poorly processed fish.
A very unpleasant animal lives in the tropics - the Dragon. The worm gets to a person through water, gnaws through the intestinal wall and settles in various organs. After reaching puberty, females move to the subcutaneous tissue.
As soon as a person is at the water, leaning out, the worm throws out numerous larvae. With age, such animals grow up to 80 cm. On the human body, numerous, easily opening pustules are formed, which cause unpleasant itching and serve as a place for the penetration of a secondary infection.
Human roundworm
Ascaris is also used as a carrier. These animals do not differ in gigantic size, the maximum size is no more than 40 cm. But their fertility is striking. The female is capable of laying up to 240 thousand eggs every day. Eggs that come out are very difficult to kill. They are capable of waiting for their owner up to 12 years. Under the right conditions, they do not need an intermediate carrier. The larvae develop well on their own, without leaving the egg. They get to humans through poorly washed vegetables and fruits, as well as contaminated water. Coming out of the eggs, for a start, begin to migrate through the intestines of a person.
Larvae can be found in the heart, liver, lungs, and even the brain. They are caused by a wide variety of diseases. After a certain stage of development, they return to the stomach through saliva, where they grow to adult animals. The circle is closed.
Large worms can provoke intestinal obstruction, diseases of the genitourinary system, congestion, the development of a hernia, obesity due to a sharp increase in appetite. If children are infected, they may study poorly, be inhibited or overactive. Helminths are very difficult to detect when carrying out traditional analyzes, so it is necessary not to forget about preventive measures.
Wide tapeworm
Infection with helminths of this species occurs by eating raw fish infested with the larvae of the broad tapeworm. Once in the human body, the worms grow in five weeks to adult.
- With a weak infection, the patient feels discomfort in the abdomen, loses appetite and weight.
- In the case of severe invasion, a person experiences an acute deficiency of vitamin B12, which leads to anemia and even subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord.
The worms reach the state of an adult in three months. Worms such as bovine tapeworm can for a long time remain unnoticed, due to which they live in the human body for up to twenty years.
- Helminths negatively affect the walls of the small intestine, leading to a violation of the secretory and motor function of the digestive system.
- An infected person experiences a cramping pain similar to pain when inflammatory process appendicitis.
- If the worms actively secrete segments, the patient feels itching in the anal canal.
- In addition to paroxysmal soreness in the abdomen, a person may experience nausea, vomiting, a weak state of the whole body, whether the appetite decreases sharply.
V rare case with helminthiasis, shortness of breath, nosebleeds, discomfort in the right side of the sternum may appear. Mass invasion often leads to intestinal obstruction.
If a woman is carrying a baby, bovine tapeworm can cause termination of pregnancy.
Worms such as pork tapeworm are widespread throughout the world. An adult provokes the development of teniasis, and the larvae cause infectious disease cysticercosis.
- Subcutaneous tissue;
- Skeletal muscle;
- Visceral organs;
- Central nervous system;
- Spinal cord.
Pork Ascaris
The larvae of echinococcus themselves are small in size, but they form a cyst filled with fluid around themselves, which often reaches huge size... The diameter of the cyst can reach several tens of centimeters and weigh about 10 kilograms. The bubble itself contains about 10 liters of liquid.
Infection with helminthiasis occurs through household contact, when communicating with infected animals, eating dirty berries, vegetables and fruits.
With the formation of a cyst, a person may experience:
- Liver damage in the form of jaundice;
- Disruption of the lungs and the formation of an abscess;
- Increased intracranial pressure in the brain area.
In funds mass media many cases of detection of worms of record sizes in humans have been told. Information is accompanied by a photo and detailed description symptoms of infection.
The largest earthworm is the Austrian giant earthworm (in Latin Megascolides australis, in English Giant earthworm). From a distance, this worm looks like a long and thin snake... The giant Austrian worm is the largest invertebrate in the world. Such worms can reach a length of 3 or even 4 meters. The diameter of the body with this length will be 2-3 cm.
The Australian worm is found only in the hills of Southwest Gippslen (Australia). Such a worm can live up to 10 years. Unless, of course, some avid fisherman decides to fish on them.
The main breeding season for such worms is spring and summer. Such worms are hermophradites, which means that they have both male and female reproductive systems. But nevertheless, for the appearance of offspring, a pair is needed. Each of the worms fertilizes each other and then they both lay on a cocoon.
Juveniles of these large earthworms are 20 cm long, after five years they reach their maximum size and can begin to reproduce.
The home for these worms is a two-meter hole, which they dig for themselves, the main criterion for choosing a soil is its moisture. At the time of movement through the tunnels, the giant Australian worm can reach great speed, while it will create a specific gurgling sound. High speed worms in their holes, is achieved due to the fact that they cover the walls of their holes with special viscous mucus, which makes these walls smoother.
Disgusting animals that can be both harmful and helpful. We are talking about worms. Many, at the sight of this creeping, will shudder and warp, while others, on the contrary, consider these creatures cute and do not even hesitate to take them in their hands. Earthworms belong to the order Haplotaxida, a suborder of small bristles.
Delayed maturity
The most interesting thing is that giant worms mature quite late, by animal standards. This period occurs only in the fifth year of their life. And after another year, they have the ability to lay eggs (it is worth noting that worms are hermaphrodites). Another year later, larvae appear from the eggs. Their length is also quite impressive - about twenty centimeters.
What is the purpose of worms? For the first time, Charles Darwin himself told the world about them. So, these animals contribute to the moisture, mixing and aeration of the earth. They move in the soil, pushing it apart, or swallowing the soil and letting it pass through their body. Boneless people prefer a wet kidney, since in a dry one their activity is significantly inhibited, and sometimes even stops altogether.
Glowing monsters
Australians are very happy with the neighborhood with such a giant animal. And this is even despite the fact that during its journey underground, the worm emits a kind of snort, clearly audible to people on the surface. But this is nothing compared to how much soil the animal cultivates, making holes for itself.
According to unconfirmed reports, but it is generally accepted that the most long worms can be found not only in Australia but also in New Zealand. The length of individuals can reach five meters, moreover, these monsters glow in the dark. Instances are found in South Africa. Maximum length most big worm was 6.5 meters. He was caught in 1967.
However, mutants were also found in China. True, their dimensions were not so impressive. In Xipun province local on the estate, Li Wong discovered an animal about half a meter long. The worm was in a half-dead state and the finder thought it was a snake. However, upon closer examination, it became clear that this is an ordinary earthworm. The one that most fishermen in Russia use as live bait. By the way, as experts said after the find, high growth worms promote favorable climatic conditions, as well as the level of radiation and the amount of harmful chemicals in the soil. Recorders were also found in Russia, cases were recorded in the Urals and the Caucasus.
Longer than a blue whale
It turns out that the longest animal in the world is the tapeworm Lineus longissimus. It can grow up to sixty meters. It turns out that individuals are twice the length of a blue whale and a third of a hairy jellyfish. The tapeworm belongs to the nemerteine group of worms, which means “ sea nymph».
Scientists know about a thousand species of such worms. And almost all of them - Marine life... The bodies of animals are long and thin, and in diameter can be only two millimeters. Worms have unique ability- they can be stretched to their full length. If the body is not elongated, then it is about 30 meters. And boneless looks more like a long huge tourniquet.
Body tapeworm consists of muscles. They pump blood because the animal does not have a heart. Individuals are considered the most primitive organisms, and at the same time dangerous and voracious predators. In order to catch its prey, the animal shoots out a long tube with poisonous sticky hooks. Many of these worms do not differ in color from the darkness. water depths... However, there are those with a rather bright color. Tapeworms recover well from damage, and some even multiply by dividing into parts.
Helminths
However, the longest worm can be such a length that a person cannot even imagine. The Lenius worm lives in deep seclusion, and in the literal sense of the word, at the very bottom Atlantic Ocean... They are benthic and curl up their bodies. It is possible in order to safely and safely leave your entire body in sight, as well as not to lose control over your elongated body. Lineuses are unusually long and thin. They can grow up to 20-30 meters.
Delicious worm
However, there are absolutely not nasty worms that you can pick up and even swallow without shuddering. Here it comes and edible worms. And this is not a brainchild of nature, but a product of confectioners. Every child has eaten such a marmalade miracle at least once in his life. True, usually yummy does not exceed 10 centimeters. However, a truly endless delicacy was invented especially for those with a sweet tooth. The longest gummy worm has grown to a record 66 centimeters. It weighs 1.3 kg. The rest of the sweet worm does not differ from its congeners.
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