Pheretima praepinguis

Pheretima praepinguis
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Annelida
Clade:	Pleistoannelida
Clade:	Sedentaria
Class:	Clitellata
Order:	Opisthopora
Family:	Megascolecidae
Genus:	Pheretima
Species:	P. praepinguis
Binomial name
Pheretima praepinguis Gates, 1935[1]

Pheretima praepinguis is a huge earthworm about half meter long of genus Pheretima.[2] Pheretima praepinguis lives in Emei mountain, Sichuan Province, China, and is one of the most featured organisms living in the place.[1] It is trivially called "Big Earthworm of Emei"(Chinese: 峨嵋大蚯蚓) or "Toudilong" (Chinese: 透地龍, literally means "dragon which can go through the earth").[3]

History

In 1931, Yi Chen (Chinese: 陳義), a honored Chinese biologist, researched some samples of an earthworm from Mount Emei, Sichuan Province. At that time, he suggested that it should be classified into Pheretima tschiliensis. However, G. E. Gates found out that such earthworm is different with Pheretima tschiliensis. They can be distinguished by the location of the primary spermathecal pores in parietal invaginations. He then named this earthworm after Pheretima praepinguis in 1935. Although Yi Chen insisted that Pheretima praepinguis is a synonym of Pheretima tschiliensis in an article published in 1936,[4] this name is ubiquitously accepted nowadays.[2][5]

See also

• Pheretima
• Pheretima tschiliensis

References

1. 冯孝义 (Xiao-yi Feng); 董芷馨 (Zhi-xin Dong) (1987). "中药地龙原动物的研究(Studies on the Zoological Origin of Earthworms for Medicinal Use)". 中国中药杂志( China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica. 12 (10): 3.
2. 赵云 (Yun Zhao). "Pheretima praepinguis". 四川大学 (Sichuan University). Archived from the original on 2017-07-27.
3. 盛红 (1 July 2013). 半山一眸，世界真奇妙. 四川文艺出版社；Esphere Media (美国艾思传媒). p. 46. ISBN 978-7-5411-3745-7.
4. Yi Chen (1936). "On the terrestrial Oligochaeta from Szechuan. II. With notes on Gates' types". Contributions from the Biological Laboratory of the science society of China (Zool), 11, 269–306.
5. G. E. Gates (1939). "ON SOME SPECIES OF CHINESE EARTHWORMS, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SPECIMENS COLLECTED IN SZECHWAN BY DR. D. C. GRAHAM". Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 85. Washington.