Earthworm and Crayfish Essay

Earthworms are from the annelid phylum and are longs, and moist. They live in and
tunnel through dirt by eating away at it. Their moist skin helps them tunnel through the dirt and
undergo the process of respiration, because they do not have lungs. Their body consists of 100
segments and has muscle up and down the body. Their digestive system consists of a long
intestinal tube that allows the nutrients from their food to be processed. Their pharynx is a very
muscular organ that pushes dirt through their esophagus into the crop and gizzard. The crop has
digestive enzymes that help digest the food and the gizzard crushes it. An earthworm has a
closed circulatory system that consists of 5 aortic arches that pump blood through blood
vessels throughout the body. The nervous system is made up of a ganglion, which is nervous
tissue that picks up stimulus and allows the worm to respond to them. The excretory system of a
worm is an anus. When they excrete, they pass out processed dirt that acts as a fertilizer to the
land around them. The system also has nephridia, which removes metabolic waste through pores
in its skin. Earthworms are also hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female
reproductive gonads. To sum it up, earthworms are a very beneficial organism to the
environment because of their ability to aerate the soil, produce fertilizers, and be used as bait and
as a food source.
Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans that live in water that does not freeze to the bottom.
They breathe through gills that are like feathers and feed on both living and dead animals and
plants. Their body is grouped into two main body parts, the cephalothorax and the abdomen.
Most crayfishes grow up to 7 inches and resemble a minute crab. They also do not have a
backbone but have an exoskeleton that molts in order for the organism to grow. Furthermore,
they have an open circulatory system and have eyes on the side of their head and on their stalks.

They have walking legs, antennae, and claws that are used to capture prey and sense their
surroundings. Their reproductive system consists of swimmerets that release sperm from males
in to the females. One major organ in their body is the green glands, which filter toxins out of
the body. Their stomach has chitin teeth that are used to crush the food in order to make it easier
to digest. They have a digestive gland that consists of enzymes that help digestive food in the
body. Their long intestines process the nutrients in the food before being excreted. Crayfish can
also be quite beneficial to the environment. They clean up the floor of the body of water they
live in, can be used as bait, and are sometimes used as a food source by humans.