The first reaction to the question: “What is the longest animal?”, I want to answer - a giraffe. After a little thought, you remember about the whale. Someone might argue that there is a blue jellyfish that is even larger. All these are delusions. Without a doubt, worms will be the champions in size.
Until the end of the 18th century, a fairly large type of the animal kingdom was classified under this name. Later, zoologists disbanded it and created a number of new types.
Classification of worms
Today the Animal Kingdom includes a large group, under the general name - Protostomes, which do not form a separate rank. What is commonly called worms is united by 8 types. Among them - Volosatiki, Priapulids, Sipunculids, as well as Gnotostomulids with Acanthocephalans, are of little interest to us. But the remaining 3 are worth paying attention to:
- Ringed,has 18 thousand species. Habitat - the thickness of the earth and water. A bisexual animal with the possibility of hermaphroditism, moreover, they can reproduce by division. They live in almost all corners of the globe, with the exception of Antarctica. There are species capable of living at a depth of 10-11 km.
- Flat, 18 thousand species described. They can be free-living or parasitic. The former are predominantly predators. The second - feed either by suction through the mouth opening, or absorb nutrients with the whole body.
- Round or nematodes include 24 thousand species. Modern zoologists believe that this is an insignificant part of those existing on earth. They have adapted to living almost everywhere. Found at the deepest ocean depths and as parasites on almost all animals and plants.
Rain Monsters
Everyone knows earthworms. These garden workers do not get tired of plowing the land, constantly aerating it. Few people de alt with the question - what are the largest earthworms. In the world, perhaps, there is no site where these ringed animals do not occur. Under favorable conditions, they live up to 10 years. Only by the sixth year, this individual is able to lay eggs. The larvae appear after a year. They are growing all the time. 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.
Flatworms
Against the background of their fellow flat ones, eventhe world's largest worms such as annelids just look like dwarfs. For example, the ribbon Lineus longissimus reaches 60 meters. If we compare the photo of the largest worm in the world with a blue whale, then the latter will be half as small. Even the famous hairy jellyfish is far from such a size. This is just one of the representatives of the largest worms in the world - nemertin. A total of 1300 species have been described. But it is obvious that scientists are still waiting for amazing discoveries. Nemerteans live in the ocean at great depths. Only by the middle of the XVIII century, scientists were able to describe them. In addition to the water depths, tapeworms are parasitic.
Wide Ribbon
Medicine knows the fact when worms 17 meters long were extracted from the human body. And it's not the biggest worm in man.
The photo of such a giant is amazing. A wide 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.
Bull tapeworm
Another large subject can settle in the human body. The largest worm from the Teniid family - Bull tapeworm grows up to 10 meters. The parasite settles in the small intestine, causing an unpleasant disease teniarinhoz. An animal can lay approximately 11 billion eggs in its lifetime. Fortunately, they cannot develop in the human body, for this they need another carrier - cattle. After the first stage of development, he through the meat of the animal againreturns to the person. The cycle closes.
Pork tapeworm
Third place in the ranking of the largest worms in the world, parasitizing in humans, in pork tapeworm. There are worms 3 meters long. A relative of the previous two animals, it uses pigs with rabbits for intermediate development, as well as camels. Through their meat, the main carrier is infected. Man will be the final owner. The worm settles in the carrier's stomach. This parasite can go through the first stage of development without leaving the main host. This causes the disease teniasis or cysticercosis. To prevent the disease, it is worth observing personal hygiene and eating meat that has undergone high-quality heat treatment.
Nematodes
Nematodes can compete with nemerteans for the title of the largest worms in the world. Even more mysterious creatures. Today, no one can say with certainty how many of their species live on earth. Worms are able to parasitize on absolutely any animal, even protozoa did not escape the fate of being donors of nematodes. For the plant world, these parasites also pose a significant danger. The sizes of nematodes vary from several tens of microns to several meters. The largest worms in the world of this type settle in whales and reach eight and a half meters. Nematodes in humans are localized in all organs, which distinguishes them from tape parasites.
Guinea worm
A very unpleasant animal lives in the tropics - the Little Dragon. The worm gets to a person through water, gnaws through the intestinal wall andsettles in various organs. After reaching puberty, females move to the subcutaneous tissue.
As soon as a person is near the water, leaning out, the worm throws out numerous larvae. With age, such animals grow up to 80 cm. Numerous, easily opened pustules form on the human body, which cause unpleasant itching and serve as a site for secondary infection.
Human roundworm
A person as a carrier is also used by roundworms. These animals do not differ in gigantic size, the maximum size is not more than 40 cm. But their fertility is amazing. The female is capable of laying up to 240 thousand eggs daily. Eggs that have come out are very difficult to kill. They are able to wait for their owner up to 12 years. Under favorable conditions, they do not need an intermediate carrier. The larvae develop perfectly on their own, without leaving the egg. They get to humans through poorly washed vegetables and fruits, as well as contaminated water. They come out of the eggs, for starters, they begin to migrate through the insides of a person.
The larvae can be found in the heart, liver, lungs and even the brain. They are caused by a variety of diseases. After a certain stage of development, they again return to the stomach through saliva, where they grow to adult animals. The circle closes.
The format of the article does not allow describing all the worms. The largest grow up to several tens of meters, the smallest are able to parasitize on the simplest organisms.
