Second, upon arrival we found that a tree near the lodge had toppled onto the power lines, and the flaming tree trunk blocked our access to the lodge. We arrived to the lodge to two surprises which, fortuitously, led to our finding the giant earthworm. First, it was raining heavily throughout our drive to Sumaco. We think it is probably a specimen of the rare Mariodrilus crassus but it may well be a new species. Yes, you diehard fans of hyperthyroidal nematodes, giant earthworms exist! I had heard of them but had no idea they were this big until my photo tour group (which I was leading with help from my good friends Lucas Bustamante and Frank Pichardo) and I encountered one near Wild Sumaco Lodge in the Eastern Andes in Ecuador. A couple of years ago, a photo of a giant earthworm discovered by scientists in eastern Ecuador went viral and stirred up a lot of debate about whether the photos were fake.
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