An informative and fun presentation on segmented worms.

1. Akshay Chitturi

2. Giant earthworm (class Oligochaeta)
Leech (class Hirudinea)
Marine worm (class Polychaeta)
Bristleworm (class Polychaeta)

3. Introduction
 I am a segmented worm, also known as a member of
the Phylum Annelida.
 Why am I so unique?
 As an annelid, I am able to live in a variety of places. I
prefer underground, but sveral of my cousins are able to
live within sponges, or even “shells” of their own creation!
 My body is divided into several “segments” that can
regrow if I lose one.

4. My Habitat
 We annelids are divided into three classes:
Oligochaeta, Hirudinea, and Polychaeta.
 Oligochaeta (earthworms) live underground terrestrially
in moist soil, and come to the surface after heavy
rainfall.
 Hirudinea (leeches) live near freshwater streams,
because of an inability to store water very well.
 Polychaeta (marine worms) live in the ocean, filter-
feeding for survival.

5. Favorite Activities
 As an annelid, I enjoy burrowing underground
searching for food, avoiding enemies, and finding
potential mates.
 My cousins, the leeches, have a pastime of preying on
visitors. They enjoy sucking their blood for a meal.
 My very distant relatives, marine worms, enjoy sitting
on the ocean floor and filter-feeding. Sometimes I
envy their lifestyle…
 Sometimes, though, after a heavy rainfall, I venture
above-ground to mate (when the air is humid enough
for me). We have to be careful, though – many of us
get killed aboveground.

6. Genealogy
 Every Annelid has several functionally identical body
segments. This design helps regeneration – it is very
easy to replace lost/damaged segments.
 We have a very wide temperature and pH tolerance,
letting them inhabit a variety of environments, from
hypotonic (freshwater) to hypertonic (terrestrial). I,
for example, can thrive in acidic or basic soils.
 Annelids have developed a special epidermis that
allows us to conserve water. We developed this when
our ancestors first made the jump to land.

7. Adaptations
 Annelids are made of easily replaceable segments. By
keeping the segment structure similar and spreading
organs, an annelid can replace damaged/severed segments
fairly quickly.
 Annelids have a membrane known as a cuticle, which
allows water molecules to diffuse inward (facilitated
diffusion) but doesn’t allow water OUT.
 Annelid blood is constantly circulating (no open sinuses
for draining) which means that the blood does not pool
and become useless for a time.
 Annelids move on land due to a system pioneered by their
ancestors; repeated contraction of oblique muscles. A few
annelids (marine worms) have appendages to aid them.

8. Terms/Conditions
 I am looking for:
 A highly resilient mate, capable of surviving in varied
pH / osmotic conditions
 A less motile mate, able to move slowly but not too
quickly
 An invertebrate who thrives in and enjoys very humid
conditions, but who isn’t picky

9. Bibliography
 Mitchell, Anne P. quot;All About Segmented Worms - Phylum Annelida.quot; All About
Worms. 2005. 17 Apr. 2009 <http://www.allaboutworms.com/segmented-
worms-phylum-annelida>. This website was instrumental in finding very basic
information about anelids, and was especially helpful with their history
(migration onto land).
 quot;Annelida.quot; McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. The
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2005. Answers.com 19 Apr. 2009.
http://www.answers.com/topic/annelida-2 This website was very helpful with
the specific adaptations that annelids developed to survive on land, and
described their pros and cons in detail.
 MSN Encarta - Online Encyclopedia, Dictionary, Thesaurus, and More. 1997.
Microsoft. 18 Apr. 2009
<http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761560164/Annelid.html>. This article
gave a lot of basic information on annelids, and was particularly informative
when it came to their habitat.
 quot;Earthworms.quot; Backyard Nature with Jim Conrad. 2004. 18 Apr. 2009
<http://www.backyardnature.net/earthwrm.htm>. This article was especially
helpful in the classification of Annelids, and helped me to categorize them by
freshwater, terrestrial, and marine classes.