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Article: Turn of shovel turns up rare giant Palouse earthworm.
- Article from:
- The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA)
- Article date:
- February 1, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 The Spokesman-Review. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: James Hagengruber
Feb. 1--It was at the end of a long day of worm research when University of Idaho graduate student Yaniria Sanchez-de Leon dug into the prairie soil and spotted the quick flash of white skin.
Her shovel came up with a small segment of the pale flesh. She took another scoop on that sunny May afternoon last year and retrieved the rest of the worm. Sanchez-de Leon immediately suspected she might have found a giant Palouse earthworm, an extremely rare worm that reportedly grows to 3 feet in length, is as thick as a pinky finger and spits a lily-scented saliva when frightened.
Nearly 20 years had passed since the last ...