Best Fish Bait Ever

Scientists recently dug up an earthworm so big it might bend your fish hook.

The white, lily-scented worm--found by University of Idaho graduate student Yaniria Sanchez-de Leon--is the first Palouse earthworm specimen unearthed in nearly 20 years. This 6-inch guy, however, a relative runt--Palouse worms can reach reported lengths up to 3 feet.

Even those are dwarfed by some Australian species, which can reach 10 feet long.

Despite their size, none have been sighted since 1988 when James B. "Ding" Johnson of the University of Idaho found several under a patch of moss.

"This is exciting," Johnson said. "By earthworm standards, they're pretty cool."

"It's good news that this species is still with us."

These worms get their name for the rolling hills of the Palouse prairie that roll across about 2 million acres of north central Idaho and southeastern Washington.

--Bjorn Carey

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Credit: Yaniria Sanchez-de Leon/University of Idaho