Tubeworms

These tubeworms (Riftia pachyptila) may grow to about 3 meters (8 ft) tall. They have no mouth, eyes, or stomach. Their survival depends on a symbiotic relationship with the billions of bacteria that live inside them. These bacteria convert vent chemicals into food for the worm.

Resembling giant lipsticks, tubeworms (Riftia pachyptila) live over a mile deep on the Pacific Ocean floor near hydrothermal vents. They may grow to about 3 meters (8 ft) long. The worms' white tube home is made of a tough, natural material called chitin (pronounced "kite-in").

Tubeworms have no mouth, eyes, or stomach ("gut"). Their survival depends on a symbiotic relationship with billions of bacteria that live inside them. These bacteria convert the chemicals spewing out of the vents into worm food. This chemical-based food-making process is known as chemosynthesis.

Since a tubeworm has no mouth, how do bacteria enter the worm? Scientists have found that, during its earliest stages, the tubeworm does have a mouth and gut for bacteria to enter. But as the worm grows, these features disappear!

The bright-red plume is the tubeworm's breathing apparatus. The blood in it contains special forms of hemoglobin that have a super-high affinity for the oxygen in the seawater. Masses of tubeworms, with their showy plumes, inspired scientists to name one vent field "The Rose Garden" in 1979.

However, during an expedition that began in May 2002, scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and NOAA's Ocean Exploration Program found that "The Rose Garden" may have been covered over with lava from a recent volcanic eruption. They found a thriving new site nearby that they named "Rosebud." For more details, read the story on the Woods Hole Web site.