Where Do Worms Live
What Is A Worm?
Worm is the name given to a group of creatures that have round, soft, segmented, and elongated bodies. There are various species of worm from the common earthworm to the tapeworm. They are invertebrates meaning that they have no backbone. There are four main groups of worms: flatworms, or Platyhelminthes; ribbon worms, or Nemertea; roundworms, or Nematoda; and segmented worms, or Annelida. Worms range in size and can be microscopic to over several meters in length. The largest worm being the marine nemertean worm, which can grow up to 55 meters. The term worm is also applied to a specific type of computer virus that is capable of reproducing itself and can spread from computer to computer via network connections.
Where Do Worms Live?
Obviously the answer to this question depends largely on what type of worm you are talking about. Free-living worm species such as earthworms, marine worms, round worms (non-parasitic), bootlace worms etc, live on land, in sea water or fresh water or in burrows (underground). Worms such as these can be found on most continents of the world with the exception of the arctic and Antarctica. Most worms like to live in the soil as they are decomposers who find their food sources in the earth.
Parasitic worms such as tapeworms, flatworms, roundworms and hook worms live inside the bodies of other animals and plants. Mature parasitic worms live inside the intestines of animals and eat the food that is being digested. It is said that millions of people worldwide are infected with parasitic worms through uncooked meats, contaminated water and unwashed hands (contact with feces).
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