The Classification of an Earthworm

Basic Taxonomy

• Living things are organized by biologists with a system called taxonomy. In this systems, every organism has a specific two-word name. For example, dogs are canis familiaris. The first word is their genus, and it includes the other animals closely related to dogs like foxes and wolves. The second word is the species. Think of it like a person's name, but with the family name first. From the genus level, larger and larger groups of life forms are grouped together. The system goes from smallest group to largest: species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom, and domain.

Earthworm Taxonomy

• There are numerous different earthworms in several different families. The most common earthworms in North America, Western Asia and Europe are all in the family lumbricidae. The common night-crawler is specifically lumbricus terrestris. So, from specific to general, their classification is species terrestris (nightcrawlers); genus lumbricus (nightcrawlers and their relatives); family lumbricidae; order oligochaeta (earthworms); class chaetopoda (earthworms and related species); phylum annelida (segmented worms); order animalia (animals); domain eukaryota (multi-celled organisms).

Other Ways of Describing Earthworms

• In addition to their taxonomy, earthworms can be described by their characteristics. In terms of reproduction, they are hermaphrodites. This means they are both male and female, though they do require a partner to reproduce. They are also decomposers, meaning they break down dead or dying matter into simpler forms. They are also anteriorized, meaning they do have a distinct head that is more sensitive than the tail end. They are bilaterally symmetrical, meaning they can be cut into a left and right side, like humans.

Uses of Taxonomy

• Learning taxonomy is extremely important in biology. This system is set up so that scientists from all over the world can understand each other. This is also a major part of why many of the words in this system are in Latin, a dead language that doesn't favor a particular country. Modern scientists are using genetic testing to refine and redefine entire families of organisms. This is a rapidly changing area of biology.