CreatureData

Earthworm

Lumbricus terrestris Linnaeus, 1758

Status not recordedworms

The earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) is a species in the family Lumbricidae, order Crassiclitellata. It has been recorded in 52 countries, most often in United Kingdom, Germany and Canada.

Earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris)
Photo: Donald Hobern from Copenhagen, Denmark · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the earthworm

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
soil, dead leafsrc for Main food
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Not recorded
Recorded in
52 countriessrc for Recorded in

Where does the earthworm live?

Countries with openly licensed sighting records on GBIF. This shows where the species has been recorded, including zoos and introduced populations. It is not a definitive range.

The earthworm has been recorded in 52 countries, from 8,059 records.

Canada: 991 recordsUnited States of America: 962 recordsArgentina: 1 recordKenya: 1 recordRussia: 261 recordsNorway: 321 recordsSouth Africa: 2 recordsMexico: 2 recordsUruguay: 1 recordFrance: 748 recordsIndia: 2 recordsPakistan: 10 recordsSweden: 951 recordsBelarus: 44 recordsUkraine: 122 recordsPoland: 21 recordsAustria: 60 recordsHungary: 3 recordsMoldova: 2 recordsRomania: 3 recordsLithuania: 2 recordsLatvia: 2 recordsEstonia: 25 recordsGermany: 1,233 recordsBulgaria: 4 recordsCroatia: 1 recordSwitzerland: 125 recordsLuxembourg: 1 recordBelgium: 11 recordsNetherlands: 10 recordsPortugal: 43 recordsSpain: 6 recordsIreland: 188 recordsNew Zealand: 11 recordsAustralia: 3 recordsItaly: 34 recordsDenmark: 42 recordsUnited Kingdom: 1,480 recordsIceland: 2 recordsSlovenia: 4 recordsFinland: 212 recordsSlovakia: 12 recordsCzechia: 14 recordsMacedonia: 1 recordSerbia: 5 recordsMontenegro: 1 record
  • None on record
  • 1–9
  • 10–99
  • 100–999
  • 1,000+
records per country · small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same figures as a list, most records first

  1. United Kingdom1,480
  2. Germany1,233
  3. Canada991
  4. United States962
  5. Sweden951
  6. France748
  7. Norway321
  8. Russia261
  9. Finland212
  10. Ireland188
  11. Switzerland125
  12. Ukraine122
  13. Åland Islands68
  14. Austria60
  15. Belarus44
  16. Portugal43
  17. Denmark42
  18. Italy34
  19. Estonia25
  20. Poland21
  21. Czechia14
  22. Slovakia12
  23. Belgium11
  24. New Zealand11
  25. Netherlands10
  26. Pakistan10
  27. Spain6
  28. Jersey5
  29. Serbia5
  30. Bulgaria4
  31. Slovenia4
  32. Australia3
  33. Hungary3
  34. Romania3
  35. India2
  36. Iceland2
  37. Liechtenstein2
  38. Lithuania2
  39. Latvia2
  40. Moldova2
Show 12 more countries
  1. Mexico2
  2. Svalbard & Jan Mayen2
  3. South Africa2
  4. Argentina1
  5. Croatia1
  6. Isle of Man1
  7. Kenya1
  8. Luxembourg1
  9. Montenegro1
  10. North Macedonia1
  11. Tonga1
  12. Uruguay1

What is the earthworm?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

Lumbricus terrestris is a large, reddish worm species thought to be native to Western Europe, now widely distributed around the world (along with several other lumbricids). In some areas where it is an introduced species, some people consider it to be a significant pest for out-competing native worms.

Through much of Europe, it is the largest naturally occurring species of earthworm, typically reaching 20 to 25 cm in length when extended.

Wikipedia contributors, “Lumbricus terrestris”, Wikipedia (revision 1374796561), retrieved 2026-11-11. Shared under CC BY-SA 4.0; this block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the 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 earthworm classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumAnnelida
  3. classClitellata
  4. orderCrassiclitellata
  5. familyLumbricidae
  6. genusLumbricus
  7. SpeciesLumbricus terrestris Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms Allolobophora terrestris, Aporrectodea terrestris, Aporrectodea terrestris terrestre, Enterion terrestre, Enterion terrestris, Lumbricus agricola, Lumbricus infelix

Names in other languages (7)
  • Gemeiner RegenwurmGerman
  • Minhoca-comumPortuguese
  • gewone regenwormDutch
  • stor daggmaskSwedish
  • 普通蚯蚓Chinese
  • أبو مديدArabic
  • Обыкновенный дождевой червьRussian

GBIFWikidataWikipediaNCBI TaxonomyITISEncyclopedia of LifeiNaturalistWoRMS

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Where does the earthworm live?

The earthworm has openly licensed sighting records from 52 countries on GBIF. The most records come from United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, United States and Sweden. These are recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

What does the earthworm eat?

Its recorded main food is soil and dead leaf.

What kind of animal is the earthworm?

The earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) belongs to the family Lumbricidae in the order Crassiclitellata.

Sources and how to cite this page

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

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/earthworm

MLA

“Earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/earthworm.

BibTeX
@misc{earthworm_2026,
  title = {Earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/earthworm},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}