''Aporrectodea caliginosa'' (also known as ''Allolobophora similis'' or the grey worm) is an

earthworm An earthworm is a terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. They exhibit a tube-within-a-tube body plan; they are externally segmented with corresponding internal segmentation; and they usually have setae on all segments. Th ...

commonly found in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. It is recognizable by the three distinct shades of colour at its front end, and it is in length when not moving. Its saddle pads usually form a two humped ridge across three segments along the length of the saddle, however this is not clearly visible. The worm mostly lies in non-permanent horizontal burrows in topsoil, and is rarely found in

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that have fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituent ...

. Like most worms, its diet consists only of soil.

References

Bart S, Amosse J, Lowe CN, Mougin C, Pery ARR, Pelosi C. Aporrectodea caliginosa, a relevant earthworm species for a posteriori pesticide risk assessment: current knowledge and recommendations for culture and experimental design. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2579-9 https://www.opalexplorenature.org/grey-worm Lumbricidae Animals described in 1826 {{Annelid-stub