Awesome Animal Fact - Giant Earthworm

Did you know there is an earthworm in Australia that is typically a meter long? The giant Gippsland earthworm lives in the grasslands of Victoria, and some individuals grow to over six feet (2 m) long!

People can actually hear these earthworms moving through the soil beneath their feet, and it sounds like water draining from a bathtub. As I'm sure you can guess, this is the largest earthworm species in the world. And there are a lot of species of earthworms—about 1,000 just in Australia, and 7,000 worldwide. So the Gippsland earthworm is pretty special.

Like other earthworms, the Gippsland giant earthworm is hermaphroditic (each individual has both male and female sex organs). They mate below ground. When they find a suitable mate, they squeeze into the same tunnel together and line up next to each other. Then, they exchange sperm with each other. So, when they mate, they both get pregnant.