#siboglinidae

[polychaete-of-the-day]

Polychaete of today is Riftia pachyptila. They live on hydrothermal vents and are can reach 2 metres long! These things also have lost their mouths and digestive systems.

I can't believe it took this long for me to do a giant tube worm.

Photo from wikimedia

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Uncharismatic Fact of the Day

Members of the genus osedax don't want any candy for halloween this year-- just bones! More commonly known as bone-eating worms or zombie worms, these species are most commonly found on whale falls, where they burrow deep inside the carcass' bones to reach the nutrient-rich fats.

(Image: A colony of bone-eating worms by Yoshihiro Fujiwara)

[animalids]

Giant tube worm (Riftia pachyptila)

Photo by NOAA

[todropscience]

Spanish scientists have discovered in the waters of Blanes, Catalonia, the first record of an Osedax worm in the Mediterranean Sea, Osedax is a genus of deep-sea polychaetes, commonly called boneworms, zombie worms, or bone-eating worms. The name alludes to how the worms bore into the bones of vertebrate carcasses to reach enclosed lipids, on which they rely for sustenance.  So far, these organisms were found only in the Pacific, North Atlantic and Antarctic.

The presence of this new species named Osedax deceptionensis in those latitudes could be related to contact with the deeper, cooler waters of the submarine canyon of Blanes.

These unusual annelids lack a mouth and intestine, usually show marked sexual dimorphism: dwarf males, similar to larvaes are housed within the female body. The females have a symbiosis with bone-degrading bacteria,  without appropriate structures, feed on these bacteria.

Photo: Female Osedax deceptionensis  attached to the bone showing concentration of embryos/larvae courtesy UB.

Reference (Open access): Taboada et al. 2015 Bone-Eating Worms Spread: Insights into Shallow-Water Osedax (Annelida, Siboglinidae) from Antarctic, Subantarctic, and Mediterranean Waters. PLoS ONE 

[todropscience]

Científicos españoles han descubierto en las aguas de Blanes, Cataluña, por primera vez en el mar Mediterráneo, una nueva especie de gusano Osedax.  Los Osedax, conocidos comúnmente como gusanos comehuesos, son anélidos marinos especializado en alimentarse de los huesos de vertebrados hundidos en el mar. Hasta ahora, estos organismos solo se habían hallado en los océanos Pacífico, Atlántico norte y Antártico.

La presencia de la nueva especie denominada Osedax deceptionensis en aquellas latitudes podría tener relación con el contacto con las aguas más profundas y frías del cañón submarino de Blanes.

Estos inusuales anélidos carecen de una boca y de intestino, por lo general muestran dimorfismo sexual marcado:los machos enanos similares a larvas se alojan dentro del cuerpo la hembra. La hembras presentan una simbiosis con bacterias degradadoras de huesos, al no tener estructuras adecuadas, se alimentan de estas bacterias.  

Imagen: Tubo de hembra de Osedax deceptionensis. En la base del tubo se pueden ver al trasluz los palpos de la hembra, y dentro de la parte más distal se pueden observar huevos retenidos, cortesía UB.

Referencia (acceso abierto): Taboada et al. 2015 Bone-Eating Worms Spread: Insights into Shallow-Water Osedax (Annelida, Siboglinidae) from Antarctic, Subantarctic, and Mediterranean Waters. PLoS ONE