CreatureData

Beach earthworm

Pontodrilus litoralis (Grube, 1855)

Status not recordedworms

The beach earthworm (Pontodrilus litoralis) is a species in the family Megascolecidae, order Crassiclitellata.

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Quick facts about the beach earthworm

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the beach earthworm live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the beach earthworm as introduced in 2 countries.

  1. Ecuador
  2. United States

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

Is the beach earthworm endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the beach earthworm classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumAnnelida
  3. classClitellata
  4. orderCrassiclitellata
  5. familyMegascolecidae
  6. genusPontodrilus
  7. SpeciesPontodrilus litoralis (Grube, 1855)

Synonyms Cryptodrilus insularis, Lumbricus litoralis, Plutellus bermudensis, Plutellus matsushimensis indica, Pontodrilus agnesae, Pontodrilus albanyensis, Pontodrilus albanyensis cygni, Pontodrilus albanyensis var. cygni, Pontodrilus arenae, Pontodrilus bermudensis, Pontodrilus bermudensis ephippiger, Pontodrilus crosslandi, Pontodrilus ephippiger laysanianus, Pontodrilus ephippiger var. laysanianus, Pontodrilus gracilis, Pontodrilus hesperidium, Pontodrilus hesperidum, Pontodrilus insularis, Pontodrilus laccadivensis, Pontodrilus littoralis, Pontodrilus marionis, Pontodrilus matshushimensis, Pontodrilus matsushimensis, Pontodrilus matsushimensis chathamianus, Pontodrilus matsushimensis indicus, Pontodrilus matsushimensis var. chathamianus, Pontodrilus michaelseni, Pontodrilus michaelseni hortensis, Pontodrilus michaelseni var. hortensis, Pontodrilus sinensis

Other names and names in other languages (3)
  • イソミミズJapanese
  • 제주해안지렁이Korean
  • 潮間泮蚓Chinese

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the beach earthworm

Other species in the same genus Pontodrilus.

CompareBeach earthworm vs Pontodrilus ephippigerBeach earthworm vs Pontodrilus lacustrisBeach earthworm vs Pontodrilus longissimusBeach earthworm vs Pontodrilus primoris

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Is the beach earthworm an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the beach earthworm as introduced in 2 countries: Ecuador and United States, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

What kind of animal is the beach earthworm?

The beach earthworm (Pontodrilus litoralis) belongs to the family Megascolecidae in the order Crassiclitellata.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Beach earthworm (Pontodrilus litoralis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/beach-earthworm

MLA

“Beach earthworm (Pontodrilus litoralis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/beach-earthworm.

BibTeX
@misc{beach_earthworm_2026,
  title = {Beach earthworm (Pontodrilus litoralis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/beach-earthworm},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}