A Kansas University researcher has discovered an earthworm in Brazil that previously was believed to be extinct.

While scouring through the dirt in southern Brazil, Sam James and others uncovered Fimoscolex sporadochaetus, a grayish white earthworm first discovered in 1918 and declared extinct in 2003.

After examining the earthworm and reviewing literature on it, the researchers declared it a find.

“It was a kind of a delayed gratification,” said James, research associate with KU’s Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center.

James said he believes there are thousands of the worms living in Brazil. But there hasn’t been anyone with the knowledge to identify the earthworm, he said.