The Northwest is as wierd and wonderful as Australia. All they have is pouches. We have clams with probosci that look like great black penises, slugs built like US Army tanks, ORCA whales that make humans seem boring, eagles that sore overhead but do not ever steal babies, big foot, and now, as Knute Berger at Crosscut reports , Jim Box of Dallas, Oregon has found the legendary great white worm of the Palouse.
Great Whites are large, white or pale earthworms that were discovered in the late 19th century in the the Palouse country of southeastern Washington . They were reportedly enormous,. .
Worm experts have acknowledged that much is not yet known about the native earthworms of the Pacific Northwest; the worm species in your gardens are non-natives. Learning more about Great Whites and kindred species is important, for one reason to resolve the debate over whether they are endangered.
Jim Box describes the worms:
“About six years ago during a deer hunt I saw a very unusual earthworm crawling along the side of a logging road. It was a foot long, and except for its beautiful pink head it was as white as a sheet of paper, and as thick as my finger. I considered taking it home to show others, but I didn’t know anyone that might be interested, so I just let it go on its way undisturbed. It did make me curious and I began talking with friends and found that a number of them had seen large worms too.”
.. a couple of months ago I found some white worms with pink heads nearby, but they were smaller than the one I had been seeking, so I found a taxonomist willing to identify them for me. However, before I could get the white worms to him I also discovered these two giants, and was contacted by a second taxonomist.
Great Whites are said to “spit” and smell of lilly. The largest worm Box found was more than 20 inches in length when crawling.