Revelations from the abyss.

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  • Author(s): Hooper, Rowan
  • Source:
    New Scientist. 7/15/2006, Vol. 191 Issue 2560, p8-9. 2p. 5 Color Photographs, 1 Black and White Photograph.
  • Additional Information
    • Subject Terms:
      CONFERENCES & conventions; MARINE organisms; PHOTOGRAPHS; WHALES; WORMS; MARINE biology
    • Subject Terms:
      SOUTHAMPTON (England); ENGLANDReport Available
    • Abstract:
      This article presents information on the bone eating marine worms which were discussed at the 11th International Deep-Sea Biology Symposium recently held in Southampton, England. The article makes specific reference to several photographs to depict astonishing images of a range of bizarre beasts which were presented at the symposium. Osedax, a bone eating marine worm, is an unusual type of polychaete. These worms were discovered living on the whales' corpses. Dead whales are a huge source of organic matter at the bottom of the ocean, and the recent discovery emphasizes over the growing evidence that dead whales may support entire novel ecosystems.