oceanportal:

Check out these amazing photos of polychaetes!

Polychaetes are mostly marine and are covered with hard, chitin spines, giving them the nickname “bristle worms.”

They are pretty much ubiquitous in the ocean, found on the cold, dark deep-sea floor, swimming in the water column, near boiling-hot hydrothermal vents—there’s even a species that exclusively feeds on whale bones that have fallen to the deep sea.

See more photos at the Echinoblog.

Photo Credit: Arthur Anker, National University of Singapore.

(via rhamphotheca)

My gigantic post of Christmas Tree Worms (Spirobranchus giganteus) !

=D

Location: All around Wakatobi, Indonesia

Photos by me (Lyra)

decaturjim:

Bone devouring worms

Osedax (Latin for “bone devourer”), otherwise known as “zombie worms”, are a group of worms that, with no mouth, gut, or anus, are able to dig into whale bones to retrieve nutrients.

Recent studies have shown that the worm metabolism is assisted by symbiotic bacteria that break down ingested fats and oils, while acid-secreting enzymes in the root-like regions of the worms are released to begin the breakdown of bone material.

(via blamoscience)

Feather Duster worm (Sabellastarte spectabilis) and Christmas Tree Worm (Spirobranchus giganteus)

Pari Island. Kepulauan Seribu.

Photo by me (Lyra)