Giant tube worm
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Giant tube worm | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | |||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
| Binomial name | |||||||||||||
| Riftia pachyptila M. L. Jones, 1981 |
|||||||||||||
Giant tube worms are annelids. They live on the floor of the oceans(Mainly Pacific Ocean), usually near Black Smokers or hydrothermal vents(which also means Black Smoker). They can tolerate extremely high temperatures and levels of sulfur. They live in symbiosis with certain bacteria. The bacteria enter the mouth of a young tube worm but when the worm gets older it's mouth and gut seal up trapping the bacteria forever. These bacteria are fed with sulfur compounds and oxygen. The bacteria then turn these compounds into organic molecules on which the host worms feed.
