''Pheretima'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

earthworm An earthworm is a soil-dwelling terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. The term is the common name for the largest members of the class (or subclass, depending on the author) Oligochaeta. In classical systems, they we ...

s found mostly in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

and parts of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. Species belonging to the genus ''Pheretima'' have a

clitellum The clitellum is a thickened glandular and non-segmented section of the body wall near the head in earthworms and leeches that secretes a viscid sac in which eggs are stored. It is located near the anterior end of the body, between the fourteenth ...

, which is a band of glandular tissue present on segments 14 to 16. Individuals are

hermaphroditic A hermaphrodite () is a sexually reproducing organism that produces both male and female gametes. Animal species in which individuals are either male or female are gonochoric, which is the opposite of hermaphroditic. The individuals of many ...

and

reproduction Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. There are two forms of reproduction: Asexual reproduction, asexual and Sexual ...

can be either sexual or

parthenogenetic Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek + ) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which the embryo develops directly from an egg without need for fertilization. In animals, parthenogenesis means the development of an embryo from an unfertiliz ...

. Female genital pores lie on the ventral surface of segment 14. A pair of male genital pores is situated ventrally on segment 18. Genital papillae may also be present ventrally. As with all earthworms, development of young is without a larval stage and takes place in cocoons. Pheretima are generally nocturnal, like most earthworms, and have an aversion to light. They come out only at night, and feed and reproduce only at night. Similar to most earthworms, they must keep their body surface wet to respire. They are also called farmer's friend as they help in making the soil porous for easy irrigation. Similar genera include '' Amynthas'', '' Archipheretima'', '' Duplodicodrilus'', '' Metaphire'', '' Metapheretima'', '' Pithemera'', and '' Polypheretima''. In combination these "pheretimoid" genera have about 1,000 species (mostly in this genus), making them an important ecological and taxonomic group of Oriental species (cf. Lumbricidae from Eurasia; Moniligastridae from Indo-Asian region). Pheretima worms are administered as a medicine in China. The worm contains biological agents beneficial in rat models of stroke. In clinical practice, it has been recognized for its curative effects in the treatment of epilepsy. It contains

hypoxanthine Hypoxanthine is a naturally occurring purine derivative. It is occasionally found as a constituent of nucleic acids, where it is present in the anticodon of tRNA in the form of its nucleoside inosine. It has a tautomer known as 6-hydroxypurine. Hyp ...

, lumbrofebrin, and lumbritin.

Species

* ''Pheretima darnleiensis'', Kinabalu giant earthworm * '' Pheretima praepinguis''

References

{{Authority control Megascolecidae Annelid genera