Creature 282: Hesiocaeca methanicola

Evolution beats sci-fi again

Under extreme conditions methane and water can freeze together to form an unusual crystal. These crystals are rather unoriginally called methane ice or methane clathrate or sometimes given the more interesting name fire ice. Originally we thought methane ice only existed on the outskirts of our solar system, until we found out that there were natural deposits trapped under the sea floor.

You wouldn't consider these deposits as receptive environments for life in general, but in 1997 Hesiocaeca methanicola was discovered living on top of these crystal deposits in the Gulf of Mexico.

These little worms wander around eating bacteria that feed of the unusual chemical environments around the sea ice crystals. A lot of the water they live in lacks dissolved oxygen. These can survive without oxgen for up to 96 hours.

Distribution:
Hesiocaeca methanicola can only be found in methane ice deposits at the bottom of the ocean, but can probably occur anywhere where these are found.

Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Annelida
Class: Polychaeta
Order: Phyllodocida
Family: Hesionidae
Genus: Hesiocaeca
Species: Hesiocaeca methanicola

Image Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesiocaeca_methanicola#/media/File:Ice_worm_closeupNASA.jpg

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hesiocaeca_methanicola_colony_noaa.jpg

Creature 236: Riftia pachyptila

An animal which can't eat

Riftia pachyptila is commonly known as a giant tube worm.

These worms can grow up to two and a half meters long, but several parts of their morphology have been highly modified or reduced to vestigial. Instead of a mouth and digestive system Riftia pachyptila relies on a symbiotic relationship with various microbes. The red tip is a feather-like structure called a plume. It is similar to some gills, except it is used to provide more than just Oxygen, it absorbs various dissolved gases which the microbes need to grow and reproduce. In return the microbes provide the nutrients which the giant tube worm needs to survive. As a result of this the giant tube worm is highly tolerant to certain chemicals such as Hydrogen Sulfide, which its dependent bacteria can metabolize. The plume can be retracted back into a hardened tube for protection.

Distribution:
Riftia pachyptila are found living near hydrothermal vents in the Pacific ocean.

Classification:
Riftia pachyptila is in the same phylum as Earthworms.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Annelida
Class: Polychaeta
Order: Canalipalpata
Family: Siboglinidae
Genus: Riftia
Species: Riftia pachyptila

Image Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_tube_worm
http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2007/rossing_jaco/introduction__the_worm_under_inv.htm

Creature 158: Osedax

Worms that eat through bones

Description:
Osedax is a recently discovered (2004) genus of polychaete worms that have already aquired several common names such as bone worms, bone eating worms, whale worms and zombie worms. Osedax in latin means bone eating, so you can probably guess where this is going.

Osedax get their name from their habit of eating the bones in whale carcasses. They burrow through the exterior of the bone but it is the marrow that they are really interested in. 

Not only do they manage to chomp up whale bones but they do it all without a mouth gut or eyes.  They dissolve the bone away with acid and rely on a symbiotic relationship with bacteria to convert the whale's marrow into usable food. They use the feather-like protrusion as a sort of gill.

Distribution: 
Osedax are found in all the world's oceans.

Classification:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Annelida
Class: Polychaeta
Order: Sabellida
Family: Siboglinidae
Genus: Osedax

Image Links:

http://phys.org/news/2013-03-mystery-zombie-worm-unveiled.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osedax

Creature 105: Eunice aphroditois

Real life dune worms

Description:

Eunice aphroditois is a polychaete  worm which is sort of like a dune sandworm, except maybe not quite as big and they live in marine habitats. Their appearance is, if anything, a little more bizarre.

These worms will hide under the sand of aquatic environments with only a thin antennae sticking out. When an appropriate prey item brushes past they launch out at terrific speeds and move in for the kill. Apparently those razor sharp teeth can saw some animals clean in half. Their jays are made up of 1 pair of mandibles (the large arched structure) and 4-6 pairs of maxillae (the 'teeth'). If they are Hungary enough they may go looking for food instead of waiting around for it to come to them. Despite their obvious coolness, very little is known about them. It is believed that they use some sort of poison to kill or disable their prey as they are capable of taking down prey that is larger than themselves. This poison, if it exists, has not been identified. The rainbow colouration is... well I don't know why they are rainbow coloured, and I can imagine why seeing as they spend almost all their time underground and are probably broadcast spanners so they don't need to impress a mate.

So how much smaller than a dune sandworm are they? Well you are probably thinking that they are  maybe 10 or 20 cm long, but they can grow up to 3 m long. Yep that is bigger than you. Before you ask, no there have not been any recorded human deaths by Bobbit worm, probably because they prefer to live at leat 10m under the surface of the water. Having said that, it would make a good crazy theory for what happened to Harold Holt.

And here is a video of the Bobbit worm in action:

Distribution:

Eunice aphroditois is found in warm ocean environments all over the world.

Classification:

Experts seem to think that the classification is a bit tentative at this stage but it currently runs like this:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Annelida

Class: Polychaeta

Order: Eunicida

Family: Eunicidae

Genus: Eunice

Species: Eunice aphroditois

Image Links:

http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/bobbit-worm

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread969729/pg1

Video Links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H4J5QDQeA4

Creature 87: Sabellidae

A worm that looks like a feather duster

Description:
Sabellidae are a family of segmented worms which look a little something like this:

Those long feathery protrusions called branchiae are actually coming out of their head. Their purpose is to trap small particles of food which they eat. They also serve a respiratory function. Unlike most filter feeders Sabellid worms are remarkable fussy eaters and their branchiae are highly specialized for catching the right type of food. Sabellidae protect their body with tubes of hardened material like sand and bits of shells cemented together by Calcium Carbonate. They spend most of their time with only their head protruding. They can retract their head when they are threatened.

Distribution:
Sabellid are found in the inter-tidal zones all over the world but are more common in warm waters.

Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Polychaeta
Class:
Order: Canalipalpata
Family: Sabellidae

Image Links:
http://www.redditian.com/r/WTF/28jpwm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabellidae#mediaviewer/File:Feather_duster_worm.jpg

Creature 34: Chaetopterus pugaporcinus

A worm that looks like a pig butt

Description:
Today we have another recently described (2007) bizarre creature from the ocean depths; Chaetopterus pugaporcinus. Chaetopterus pugaporcinus is commonly called the pigbutt worm or the flying buttocks and it does not take an overactive imagination to work out why:

This unusual looking animal is a segmented worm, just like earthworms or leeches. Two of the middle segments are inflated giving the pig butt worm the ability to float around deep in the pelagic zone of the ocean. The other segments form a sort of layering you can see around the middle. In their natural state they have been observed floating around in a cloud of their own mucous several times the size of their body. It is assumed that this is how the capture their food.
The creature is capable of bioluminescence and can be coaxed to emit a bright blue light:

They also emit bioluminescent spots in their mucous.

Distribution:
The Pigbutt worm is found lower in the Mesopelagic and in the Bathyalpelagic zones of the ocean. The original specimens were found in off Monterey Bay, California but it is unlikely that they are restricted to the area.

Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Annelida
Class: Polychaeta
Order: Canalipalpata
Family: Chaetopteridae
Genus: Chaetopterus
Species Chaetopterus pugaporcinus


Image Links:
http://www.wired.com/2013/10/strange-deep-sea-creatures/#slideid-592111
http://www.biolbull.org/content/212/1/40.full

Creature 30: Megascolides australis.

A worm that is bigger than you.

Description:
Megascolides australis, commonly called the giant Gippsland earthworm, is like any other earthworm, except for its enormous size. 

It can expand and contact in size. A normal worm can expand to up to 2-3 meters in length, but I have seen claims that it can get up to 4m, but I have been unable to substantiate them. This (sort of) makes it bigger than you, at least in length anyway.  Online records will vary as biologists will record its official length as the length at rest. But where is the fun in that? Normally in its resting state it is only amount 1 meter long or slightly more. 

This also makes it the largest annelid in the world. It is so large it can be heard making sucking noises from above ground, which is quite impressive considering its holes can be over 50cm below the surface of the earth.

Distribution:

The giant Gippsland earthworm is only found in the Bass River Valley of South Gippsland. Gippsland is a province in the South eastern Australian state of Victoria.

Classification:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Annelida
Class: Clitellata
Order: Haplotaxida
Family: Megascolecidae
Genus: Megascolides

Species: Megascolides australis

Image Links:

http://www.coolweirdo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/work-soil.gif

http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/5720565/fullscreen

http://museumvictoria.com.au/discoverycentre/infosheets/giant-gippsland-earthworm/