Talk:Worm

Latest comment: 3 years ago by PaulieMcShan98 in topic Worm

Misc edit

Moved comment from main article:

Worm is also a Nordic word for a dragon (also spelled "Wyrm"). — Preceding unsigned comment added by Evercat (talkcontribs) 11:08, 9 July 2003 (UTC)Reply
Nordic is not its own language so Im not sure if the above information is correct.

Of the three main groups of European dragons -- Wyvern, Firedrake, and Wyrm -- the Wyrm is the more serpentine of the three. The "wyrm" was used equally to refer to dragon, serpent (snake), and earthworm. And in fact, the oldest form of dragon-like image was that of a giant serpent. (eg: A serpent-dragon guards the golden fleece cf Jason and the Argonauts. Also early serpent imagery found in creation myth. Aboriginal Rainbow serpent; Or the "Eternity serpent" -- a snake biting its own tail -- as symbol.) It was these more serpentine elements of Dragons that led to modern English "worm". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.28.145.38 (talk) 23:22, 6 October 2006 (UTC)Reply

Moved comment from main article:

It is important also to mention biopsychic variations of this animal, such as Scalpworms, which are a dangerously underdiagnosed condition in adult humans.
I will leave this comment here for the moment, but it looks like someone's idea of a joke. WormRunner 00:10, 18 Nov 2003 (UTC)
That would be a gummy worm stuck in one's hair... I hear nail polish will get it out. -Timvasquez 02:37, 27 August 2005 (UTC)Reply

worms are good for composting — Preceding unsigned comment added by 158.59.247.25 (talk) 18:14, 3 November 2006 (UTC)Reply

I removed the following line from the end of the article: "Some worms can eat humans and they can walk on their two legs and sometimes can be a dangerous threat because they will attack you and maybe kill you, too." It seemed like pretty obvious vandalism. 65.60.250.14 01:49, 6 December 2006 (UTC)BrianReply

Removed this. "It was the worm that found out thet the human was intelegent and then we took all the worms intelegents. We are the smatrest creatures on the earth because af the worm. It eats mud and is now about 3feet long. It has pink scales and is eaten by the bird. If it were not for the worm we would not have computers because the worm invented them. The worm also invented Ipods and everything else we use. Now the worm has stopped serving us and there will be no further inventions from the worm and they will propbally take over the world so be prepaired!"

Need I say why? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Matar2 (talk) 08:36, 12 December 2006 (UTC)Reply

who just deleted the article!!!!! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.174.238.178 (talk) 15:41, 31 January 2007 (UTC)Reply

Read the article. Whoever wrote this is talking about a load of bollocks. It doesn't even make sense. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.136.96.63 (talk) 08:45, 20 April 2007 (UTC)Reply

Apple-eating worms edit

Are there any worms who eat apples, or are they all caterpillars mistaken for worms?--Crustaceanguy 00:13, 23 January 2007 (UTC)Reply

Eyes of Worms edit

Do Worms have eyes, and if not how do they orientate themselves? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.37.158.103 (talk) 17:25, 3 April 2007 (UTC)Reply

They do not have eyes, but I believe they have light receptors for orientation. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.216.1.4 (talk) 21:10, 23 October 2007 (UTC)Reply

This page is all messed up. edit

Poorly formatted, broken sentences, needs a complete overhaul. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Weezelds (talkcontribs) 18:42, 17 April 2007 (UTC).Reply

are worms made of dirt?? someone please answer that question. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.194.83.113 (talk) 20:34, 7 September 2007 (UTC)Reply

Also it is written in one section that all worms are hermaphroditic, but in the next section it only states that many worms are. While this is logically consistent with the first statement, it implicitly indicates that some worms are not hermaphroditic. This needs to be clarified. Mad2Physicist (talk) 16:43, 6 September 2008 (UTC)Reply

So different? edit

I've been wondering why some are unrelated to each other, how is this? The Winged Yoshi —Preceding unsigned comment added by The Winged Yoshi (talkcontribs) 20:35, 26 December 2007 (UTC)Reply

The word "worm" has been applied to animals that look and behave superficially similarly. Biological investigation has taught us that these creatures are not related, but common word usage has not caught up to this; thus, we still use the word "worm" to mean flatworms, nematodes, earthworms and others--even though these animals are very distantly related. Chalkieperfect (talk) 01:46, 24 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

Worms (video game) edit

Worms redirects to this article. However, somebody who wants to read about worms will search for "worm", not "worms". And somebody who wants to read about Worms will search for "Worms", not "worm". Please consider. M3n747 (talk) 21:08, 10 January 2008 (UTC)Reply


I agree with you, but really how many people play this worm game you're talking about? This problem could be fixed if you bookmarked the game page. If you don't know how, you should look it up! -- Smart guy 😊😊😊


well...I would assume that the majority of people who type in "worms" into wikipedia aren't looking for info on the video game. "worm" and "worms" should stay directed to this page, imho. I don't mean that there shouldn't be a video game article at all, I'm just saying that this article should be the easiest to access. 66.245.116.173 (talk) 00:10, 18 January 2008 (UTC)Reply


I must agree with the above statement. More people who are browsing Wikipedia are going to be searching for the organism, rather than the video game, so it makes sense to have both "worm" and "worms" redirect to this page. However, would it be acceptable to have Worms (Video Game) redirect to the video game article if it does not already? This way, easier access can be given to the game article, while still preserving access to this one. TwilightShade (talk) 17:18, 6 June 2008 (UTC)Reply

Agreed. Most searches for 'Worms' will be from people wishing to read about the animal, not the game. However, especially with the new drop-down search menu, Worms (Video Game) should definitely be directed to the Worms game. I believe it is set up to do so now. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mad2Physicist (talkcontribs) 16:45, 6 September 2008 (UTC)Reply

What makes you all think that most worms searches are for the animal and not the game? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.69.44.211 (talk) 03:44, 15 June 2010 (UTC) We love cricket is the best what so weer — Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.219.213.219 (talk) 08:57, 7 September 2012 (UTC)Reply

Some administrator please make a small change edit

can someone please change the current line [[sv:Mask]] to [[sv:Maskar]]?--83.183.64.115 (talk) 15:12, 10 September 2008 (UTC)Reply

Apparently has been done sometime before today. Thanks, all. -- 201.37.230.43 (talk) 19:03, 30 May 2009 (UTC)Reply

Did Linnaeus call an octopus a worm? edit

The lead of the article says that the term "worm" was used by Linnaeus for "all non-arthropod invertebrate animals". This would include molluscs -- did Linnaeus really classify the octopus and squid as worms? Looie496 (talk) 18:07, 28 December 2009 (UTC)Reply

It seems so per the image File:Linnaeus - Regnum Animale (1735).png. Octopi and squids were classified as worms. Rursus dixit. (mbork3!)

"Decomposers" edit

The classification section includes this sentence: Worms can be divided into several groups, but are still technically decomposers. I don't understand what this means; it strikes me as a non-sequitur. I assume that "decomposer" refers to the worms manner of nourishing itself, but this really has nothing to do with dividing them into groups. Also, are all worms decomposers, by any definition of that word? Please shed light on this--my tentative recommendation is to delete the bit about decomposers. Chalkieperfect (talk) 01:51, 24 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

The captions beneath the pictures don't seem right. edit

The first picture says something like "common earthworm", the second one says "another earthworm", and the third says "yet another earthworm". This seems like whoever was writing this was joking, it doesn't sound like they were being serious. Dylan (talk) 15:53, 18 August 2010 (UTC)Reply

Taxobox edit

This article needs a Taxobox, though I am unqualified to do such a thing and would probably get it horribly wrong. Can someone else do it? 168.26.180.17 (talk) 21:37, 17 January 2011 (UTC)Reply

It doesn't need a taxobox because the common name worm applies to so many completely different taxa. Invertzoo (talk) 22:13, 4 July 2014 (UTC)Reply

Weak stat edit

This stat: In the United States, the average population of worms per acre is 53, 767.[4]

is from 1950. I would question both if it is still applicable and if it was calculated correctly in the first place. Any biologists out there have better sources? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.6.5.189 (talk) 18:43, 21 July 2012 (UTC)Reply

Main image edit

The earthworm in the main image is dead or nearly so. Can someone go out and find a nice live one to photograph? They look rather different alive. Thanks. Invertzoo (talk) 22:12, 4 July 2014 (UTC)Reply

Problems with article edit

This article has a lot of tags on it asking for citations. Is anyone, any wikiproject etc. paying attention to it? Wondering because it seems to be an important article about basic information. Thanks, EChastain (talk) 13:31, 12 March 2015 (UTC)Reply

Why removed the Wikiproject Sanitation tag? edit

Just wondering why you EChastain removed the Wikiproject Sanitation tag from this article? Worms are important for sanitation in 2 ways: as the good guys (composting) and as the bad guys (helminths), that's why I had originally tagged this page. I could live with it being untagged but I am just wondering. EvM-Susana (talk) 13:46, 12 March 2015 (UTC)Reply

EvM-Susana, Worms seem remotely connected to sanitation; the article doesn't even mention sanitation. If worms are essential, then why not every animal, microorganism, agricultural practice, etc. that is tangentially related to sanitation also included? Also, if you don't intend to fix up the article (which is in bad condition), why add it? If you want it to be included in sanitation, then the article should include a section on the importance of worms to sanitation. Otherwise, its inclusion seems arbitrary to me. EChastain (talk) 13:55, 12 March 2015 (UTC)Reply
Yes, good points. I had tagged it as a reminder for the Wikiproject project that this article will need more work in future (and hence the quality rating "start"), and that the link to sanitation should be included. But OK, no problem, I will keep a separate list for myself to remind myself. One day, either myself or someone else could include the section on the importance of worms to sanitation (i.e. in a good way (composting) and in a bad way (intestinal helminths). Worms are more important than other animals when it comes to sanitation, e.g. I would not include cats, mice, horses, etc. Once that section is included, we could add the tag again. EvM-Susana (talk) 14:00, 12 March 2015 (UTC)Reply

Introduction error edit

In the introduction section the following is written: "Invertebrate animals commonly called "worms" include annelids (earthworms), nematodes (roundworms), platyhelminthes (flatworms), marine polychaete worms (bristle worms),..."

Identifying earthworms as annelids, but marine polychaetes as a separate type of worm is a bit misleading. Both oligochaetes (earthworms) and polychaetes are annelids (more generally segmented worms). — Preceding unsigned comment added by Saedquist (talkcontribs) 17:42, 6 June 2015 (UTC)Reply

Semi-protected edit request on 28 February 2016 edit

72.188.93.159 (talk) 03:19, 28 February 2016 (UTC) Worms do have brains.Reply

Some certainly do (see for example Earthworm#Central_nervous_system). What specifically would you like to include in this article? -- Euryalus (talk) 03:50, 28 February 2016 (UTC)Reply

Semi-protected edit request on 16 March 2016 edit

Josiahross02 (talk) 00:33, 16 March 2016 (UTC)Reply

  Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format. Datbubblegumdoe[talkcontribs] 01:13, 16 March 2016 (UTC)Reply

What things are common to all worms, or most worms? edit

For example do all "worms" have GI tract https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastrointestinal_tract with 2 ends: "mouth" and "anal" end?

--ee1518 (talk) 10:42, 17 May 2019 (UTC)Reply

Worm edit

Does the spell from Fire Emblem 1 qualify as a mention in this article? — Preceding unsigned comment added by PaulieMcShan98 (talkcontribs) 20:57, 30 January 2021 (UTC)Reply