Lumbricus terrestris
Linnaeus, 1758 · speciesAt a glance
Sources12 archives
Databases and archives Lumbricus terrestris's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation14 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility10 525 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI1 620 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics1 243 specimens↗
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
NPASSNat. Product Activity & Species Sourcecompounds↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinegenome & karyotype↗
Catalogue of LifeCOLtaxonomy↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
Lumbricus terrestris is a large, reddish worm species thought to be native to Western Europe, now widely distributed around the world (along with several other lumbricids). In some areas where it is an introduced species, some people consider it to be a significant pest for out-competing native worms. Through much of Europe, it is the largest naturally occurring species of earthworm, typically reaching 20 to 25 cm in length when extended.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
No structured trait data for this taxon yet.
Compounds documented for Lumbricus terrestris across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile5 classes
Documented compounds48 total
| Compound | Class | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| (3S,4aR,6aS,6bR,8aR,11R,12S,12aR,14bS)-4,4,6a,6b,8a,11,12,14b-octamethyl-2,3,4a,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,12a-dodecahydro-1H-picen-3-ol | present | NPASS | |
| 1,3,6-Tri-O-Galloyl-Beta-D-Glucose | present | NPASS | |
| 11-Eicosenoic Acid | present | LOTUS | |
| 2-[(4R,5S,7R,18S,19S,20S,23S,24R,27S,28S,29S)-20-(carboxymethyl)-13,14,18,29,33,34-hexahydroxy-2,10,17,21,26,30-hexaoxo-5-(3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoyl)oxy-3,6,9,16,22,25,31-heptaoxaheptacyclo[26.7.1.111,15.04,23.07,24.032,36.019,37]heptatriaconta-1(35),11,13,15(37),32(36),33-hexaen-27-yl]acetic acid | present | NPASS | |
| 2-Dodecenoic acid | present | LOTUS | |
| 2-Hexadecenoic acid | present | LOTUS | |
| 2-Methyldodecanoic acid | present | LOTUS | |
| 2-Methylpentadecanoic acid | present | LOTUS | |
| 2-Methyltridecanoic acid | present | LOTUS | |
| 2-Octadecenoic acid | present | LOTUS |
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Lumbricus terrestris has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
Besides the big genome in the nucleus, cells carry a small, circular loop of DNA inside the cell's energy factories — the mitochondria. It is inherited almost only from the mother and is a leftover from ancient bacteria that moved into the cell. The mitochondrial markers above (ND*, COX, CYTB…) are read from exactly this loop. Outer ring = one strand, inner ring = the other.
The complete instruction manual Lumbricus terrestris carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers
Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.
Record type10 525 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions13 of 41 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| Helsinki, FI | 214 |
| Bavarian State Collection of Zoologylocation not on record | 112 |
| Senckenberg Museum fuer Naturkunde Goerlitzlocation not on record | 79 |
| Saint John, CA | 72 |
| University of Guelph, Centre for Biodiversity Genomicslocation not on record | 66 |
| Muzeum i Instytut Zoologii Polskiej Akademii Nauklocation not on record | 62 |
| Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (Zoological Collections)location not on record | 47 |
| Stockholm, SE | 46 |
| NHMOlocation not on record | 28 |
| DOI/FWS, Kenai National Wildlife Refugelocation not on record | 17 |
| Washington, US | 17 |
| ZSMlocation not on record | 16 |
| Cambridge, US | 7 |
| Toronto, CA | 7 |
| SLU Artdatabankenlocation not on record | 6 |
| Edmonton, CA | 6 |
| South Kensington, GB | 5 |
| Swedish University of Agricultural Scienceslocation not on record | 5 |
| Sydney, AU | 4 |
| SNSB-Zoologische Staatssammlung Münchenlocation not on record | 4 |
| New Haven, US | 3 |
| Kenai National Wildlife Refugelocation not on record | 3 |
| PCHVlocation not on record | 3 |
| Centre for Biodiversity Genomicslocation not on record | 2 |
| Universite Montpellier 3location not on record | 2 |
| Tartu, EE | 2 |
| BioFokuslocation not on record | 1 |
| Museo civico La Terra e l'Uomo di Crocetta del Montellolocation not on record | 1 |
| Biodiversity Institute of Ontariolocation not on record | 1 |
| Hannam Universitylocation not on record | 1 |
| European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy (EDIT)location not on record | 1 |
| Auckland, NZ | 1 |
| DASSHlocation not on record | 1 |
| University of Minnesota, James Ford Bell Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record | 1 |
| Barcelona, ES | 1 |
| University of Oslo, Natural History Museumlocation not on record | 1 |
| University of Rouen, ECODIV Laboratorylocation not on record | 1 |
| T, BOLD, MNHNlocation not on record | 1 |
| Research Collection of Sam Jameslocation not on record | 1 |
| Natural History Museum, Londonlocation not on record | 1 |
| Natural History Museum Rotterdamlocation not on record | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Lumbricus terrestris was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.