Pheretima

For the wife of the Greek Cyrenaean King Battus III, see Pheretima (Cyrenaean Queen).

Pheretima
Pheretima praepinguis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Annelida
Clade: Pleistoannelida
Clade: Sedentaria
Class: Clitellata
Order: Opisthopora
Family: Megascolecidae
Genus: Pheretima
Kinberg, 1867
Species

Many, see text

Pheretima is a genus of earthworms found mostly in New Guinea and parts of Southeast Asia.

Species belonging to the genus Pheretima have a clitellum, which is a band of glandular tissue present on segments 14 to 16.

Individuals are hermaphroditic and reproduction can be either sexual or parthenogenetic. 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),[1] 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.[2] It contains hypoxanthine, lumbrofebrin, and lumbritin.

  1. ^ "Checklist of pheretimoid taxa" (PDF). YNU. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
  2. ^ Liu, CH; Lin, YW; Tang, NY; Liu, HJ; Huang, CY; Hsieh, CL (2012). "Effect of oral administration of Pheretima aspergillum (earthworm) in rats with cerebral infarction induced by middle-cerebral artery occlusion". Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med. 10 (1): 66–82. doi:10.4314/ajtcam.v10i1.11. PMC 3746360. PMID 24082328.