A soft-bodied, cylindrical animal (class Oligochaeta) that lives in moist soil. The body is divided into similar repeating segments (metameric segmentation); earthworms are hermaphrodites. There are about 6000 species, ranging in length from about 10 mm to 3 m (giant Gippsland worm, Megascolides australis, found in Victoria, Australia), with a worldwide distribution.