# Earthworm (*Lumbricus terrestris*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/earthworm  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | Not recorded |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Main food | soil, dead leaf |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Young per litter or clutch | Not recorded |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Recorded in | 52 countries |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Annelida
- class: Clitellata
- order: Crassiclitellata
- family: Lumbricidae
- genus: Lumbricus
- species: *Lumbricus terrestris* Linnaeus, 1758

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

## Where it has been recorded

Countries with openly licensed sighting records on GBIF (records in brackets). Recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

United Kingdom (1480), Germany (1233), Canada (991), United States (962), Sweden (951), France (748), Norway (321), Russia (261), Finland (212), Ireland (188), Switzerland (125), Ukraine (122), Åland Islands (68), Austria (60), Belarus (44), Portugal (43), Denmark (42), Italy (34), Estonia (25), Poland (21), Czechia (14), Slovakia (12), Belgium (11), New Zealand (11), Netherlands (10), Pakistan (10), Spain (6), Jersey (5), Serbia (5), Bulgaria (4), Slovenia (4), Australia (3), Hungary (3), Romania (3), India (2), Iceland (2), Liechtenstein (2), Lithuania (2), Latvia (2), Moldova (2), Mexico (2), Svalbard & Jan Mayen (2), South Africa (2), Argentina (1), Croatia (1), Isle of Man (1), Kenya (1), Luxembourg (1), Montenegro (1), North Macedonia (1), Tonga (1), Uruguay (1)

## Common questions

### 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

- [GBIF Backbone Taxonomy](https://www.gbif.org/dataset/d7dddbf4-2cf0-4f39-9b2a-bb099caae36c), CC BY 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. GBIF Secretariat. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org.
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/), CC0 1.0, live API 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata, the free knowledge base.
- [GBIF occurrence aggregates (CC0 and CC BY records only)](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search), CC BY 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. GBIF.org occurrence search, country facet counts restricted to CC0 1.0 and CC BY 4.0 records.
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/), Per file, live API 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Licence and creator recorded per file.
- [English Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/), CC BY-SA 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Cite as: Earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/earthworm