Many people believe that when an earthworm is cut in half you will get two live worms. Before you go out and try that on a poor earthworm let me tell you that this is untrue!
Earthworms are in the phyla (classification) of ‘Annelids’, and when these are cut in half down the middle will not allow the regeneration of two worms. You will more likely get the anterior end (head with the brain) to grow another tail, or a poor dead worm cut in half. The posterior end (tail) will not grow another head. So why is there the popular belief that it can regenerate?
There are a few reasons, with one of them being the twitching phenomenon of the two parts when cut in half. This happens because electrical signals are still running through the nerves, causing twitching and movement. Another reason is because some worms DO regenerate two living parts after being cut in half, such as some flatworms (planarians)! These have the strong ability to regenerate and could reproduce any parts of its body when cut off, including the head!
