The term “worm” is often used synonymously with earthworms, but nature is full of many fascinating worms that we are much less familiar with. this includes the predatory or blood-sucking leeches and the fascinating bristle worms found in our seas and oceans. Drawing on the incredible collections of the Natural History Museum London, we explore some fascinating worm specimens and learn how their study has led to some important, or often slightly strange, discoveries.
Emma Sherlock is the Senior Curator of Annelids at the Natural History Museum (London), looking after the segment worm collections (including earthworms, leeches and bristle worms) as well as undertaking fieldwork both at home and abroad, and describing new species. Emma was one of the founders of the Earthworm Society of Britain back in 2009 and is currently the Chair of the Society. She also produced the Field Studies Council Key to the Earthworms of the UK and Ireland.
Q&A with Emma Sherlock
Are the dark spots on the head of Neanthes goodayi eyes?
That’s a great question! They are for detecting movement. They’re not eyes in the same way that we have eyes. These worms are deep-sea predators and these eyes are really big in comparison to any other worms found down there, which is what really distinguishes them from other species. The reason that the scientific name is ‘goodayi’ is that they put all of the research vessel crew into a hat to decide who the species would be named after and the lucky winner was Andy Gooday. Had they not chosen the name in this way, I’m sure that the scientific name would have reflected those big eyes!
How big is the earthworm species that was found living in the vagina of a woman?
The species that was found occurring in this surprising place was Dichogaster bolaui which is a very small species of earthworm at under a couple of centimeters in length.
How big are the ice worms that live in glaciers?
They are 1- 2 cm in length with a diameter of around 0.5 cm.
Is it only scientists and researchers that can submit specimens to the museum collections?
Not at all – we receive specimens from biological recorders as well as the general public if they have found specimens of note. Specimens are donated constantly, with thousands donated each year into the worm collections. Accessioning specimens takes a lot of time as there are strict standards to follow and there is a lot of work involved cataloguing new specimens as well as looking after existing specimens. We’re also responsible for ensuring that these specimens are available to science, with specimens being sent off and returned all of the time for all kinds of research all over the world.
Does the museum leech collection include all of the UK species?
Unfortunately not. Our UK earthworm collection is comprehensive and our polychaete is growing very fast because we’ve had a number of polychaete and earthworm collection managers and researchers based at the museum- myself included. The leech collection however had not had this Museum research focus so far and therefore is far less complete, but this is something that we’re going to be focusing on this year. I’m planning some trips with the Darwin Tree of Life (DToL) project to go leech hunting and improve both the museum collection and the species that we find sequenced. The DToL team are trying to sequence the genome of every British species and Keiron has also been working with the NHM and Oxford University on this project for earthworms.
Does the Natural History Museum have a Giant Gippsland Earthworm in the collection?
Yes, we do have a Giant Gippsland Earthworm (Megascolides australis) and it is on display in the tank room of the Darwin Centre so you will get to see the specimen and one of its cocoons if you go on one of the behind-the-scenes tours of the spirit collection. The Giant Gippsland Earthworm is our biggest specimen of earthworm in the collection and indeed the largest known species in the world.
What books on worms would you recommend?
There are no books that I’m aware of that cover all worms as it is such a big (and non-taxonomic) term. If you’re looking to get started with UK earthworms, I’ve produced a Key to the Earthworms of the UK and Ireland with the Field Studies Council that is reasonably priced and has some info on earthworm biology and ecology in addition to the identification key. There are a couple of great books by Gregory Rouse and Fredrik Pleijelon on Annelids in general and Polychaetes, but these are a fair bit more pricey.
Some recommended books on worms
- Key to the Earthworms of the UK & Ireland (Field Studies Council)
- Freshwater Leeches of Britain and Ireland (Freshwater Biological Association)
- Polychaetes by Gregory W Rouse & Fredrik Pleijel
- Annelida by Gregory W Rouse, Fredrik Pleijel & Ekin Tilic
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