LAKE PEDDER EARTHWORM

Here is another lesser known extinct animal coming from Tasmania, the Lake Pedder Earthworm.  This earthworm is only known from a single specimen collected in 1971 before the instillation of a hydroelectric dam in the area.  

 The Lake Pedder Earthworm was 55 mm long and 1.6 mm in diameter.  This specimen had 129 body segments.  It was a pinkish brown color.  Nothing is known about its habits, but it was thought to eat algae and and organic matter in the sand.  Nothing is known about the life cycle of this earthworm.  It is thought each individual was both male and female and would lay its eggs in a cocoon in the soil, since this is a characteristic of most earthworms.

 In 1996, a team was put together to survey the Lake Pedder region for this earthworm, but once its habitat was flooded to create the hydro-electric dam, the Lake Pedder Earthworm was never seen again.  

 It is believed to have gone extinct in 1972 once the Lake Pedder region was flooded.  

Additional Resources:

 http://www.earthwormsinfo.com/tag/lake-pedder/
(see the world's largest earthworm)

https://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=83060



Sadly the Lake Pedder Earthworm couldn't breathe underwater.

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