What is a Hydrothermal Worm? 0007 The answer to the question of what is a hydrothermal worm is simple because its name aptly describes it. It is a worm that exists in a hydrothermal environment. In fact, a nickname for these worms are “worms from hell”. The photograph of the worm reveals more than a dozen follicle-like protrusions around an outer labia. An inner labia reveals a sizable sharp teeth which come to a beak-like point. It definitely looks as if this worm can latch on to a prey and hold on tightly. Thankfully, the worm is quite small. Photographs of the worm were taken by electron microscope model FEI Quanta SEM. The images are enhanced and the actual size is 568μm. Put another way, if you took an inch and sliced it into 25 equal length pieces and then cut one those pieces in half, the hydrothermal worm would be a tad bit bigger. The worm is a living creature and one of the smallest known to exist. The insect was first discovered only this past June deep in what is called the “subsurface biosphere”. Point in face, the hydrothermal worms can exist up to a mile beneath the ocean floor. The finding is considered significant as previous theory maintained that complex life forms could not exist at such deep levels.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Oct 2013 22:12:40 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015