Applied zoologists have found a second giant earthworm in Kollamogaru village near the temple town of Kukke Subramanya in Karnataka, promoting them to take up a more elaborate exploration of the area.
The earthworm found by Nishant Katta, an applied zoologist settled in the village, measured 76.2 cm in length and 3 cm in diameter.
The creature was moving near a stream. It was not inside the soil when found.
The latest discovery is the second reported finding of a giant earthworm in the same village of the Western Ghats along the coastal belt of Karnataka. The first sighting was in January this year with the worm measuring 93.9 cm in length and 2 cm across. It was found by workers in the farm of Mr. Katta. The second worm was found within a kilometre from where the first one was sighted.
Both have now been preserved in the university for further studies. The sighting of the largest earthworm in India – Drawida nilamburensis – belonging to the Moniligastridae family in 2008. That specimen from the Nilgiris, measured 96.5 cm in length.
