''Perionyx excavatus'' is a commercially produced
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. ...
. Popular names for this species include composting worms, blues, or Indian blues. This species is marketed for its ability to create fine worm castings quickly. It has recently become more popular in
North America for
composting
Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting ...
purposes.
This species belongs to the genus ''
Perionyx
''Perionyx'' is a genus of annelids belonging to the family Megascolecidae.
The genus has almost cosmopolitan distribution.
Species:
*''Perionyx aborensis''
*''Perionyx alatus''
*''Perionyx annandalei
''Perionyx'' is a genus of annelids ...
''. It may have its origins in the
Himalayan mountains
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over ...
. It is considered native to tropical East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
This species is suited for
vermicomposting
Vermicompost (vermi-compost) is the product of the decomposition process using various species of worms, usually red wigglers, white worms, and other earthworms, to create a mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and v ...
in
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
and
subtropical regions.
[Blakemore (2000) http://www.annelida.net/earthworm/Vermillennium%202000/Vermicology%20I.pdf]
References
Megascolecidae
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