Head to head
Lugworm vs Earthworm
Lugworm
VS Earthworm
The lugworm and the earthworm are both segmented worms that swallow sediment and leave casts behind, one on the beach and the other in the garden.
| Lugworm | Earthworm | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Arenicola marina | Lumbricus terrestris |
| Relationship | A segmented worm, an annelid | A segmented worm, an annelid |
| Habitat | A U-shaped burrow in sandy and muddy tidal flats of the north-eastern Atlantic, the North Sea, and the Baltic | Soils worldwide wherever conditions are moist and not permanently frozen |
| Breathing | Bushy red gills along the middle of its body, coloured by haemoglobin, take oxygen from water pumped through the burrow | Breathes entirely through its moist skin, which is why it must stay damp |
| Feeding | Swallows sand and mud and digests the bacteria, algae, and organic matter it contains | Eats decaying leaves and roots, along with the fungi and bacteria living in them, swallowed with soil |
| Casts | Leaves a coiled cast of sand at one end of the burrow and a small dimple at the other | Casts soil on the surface and pulls fallen leaves down into its burrow |
| Role | Food for wading birds and flatfish, and dug in large numbers as fishing bait | Darwin argued that worms bury stones and ruins and create fertile soil, and introduced earthworms are now harming forests in northern North America |
| Conservation status | Not Evaluated, but abundant on tidal flats | Not Evaluated, and found on every inhabited continent |
Lugworm vs Earthworm: common questions
What are the coils on the beach?
They are casts of sand left by a lugworm at one end of its U-shaped burrow, where it expels the sand it has swallowed.
How does an earthworm breathe?
It breathes entirely through its moist skin, which is why it must stay damp and why it dies quickly in dry air or hot sun.
Which one is used as bait?
The lugworm, which is dug in large numbers on tidal flats as bait for anglers.