Marine Worms

Peanut Worm:

The peanut worm has a proboscis that resembles an elephant’s trunk, as well as a mouth that boasts an impressive array of tentacles. This bottom burrower feeds on organic materials found in mud and sand, and when done feasting it can turn the proboscis inside out to retract it inside its body. Peanut worms are often tiny but can reach 1.5 feet (0.5 meters) in length.


Tube Worm:

This colorful tube worm inhabits the pleasant seas surrounding the Greek Isles. But its relatives occupy some of Earth’s most inhospitable spots. Giant tube worms live next to deep sea hydrothermal vents found miles below the surface, where total darkness, extreme water pressures, and a lack of oxygen allow few other species to survive.The giant tube worm, also known as Riftia pachyptila, was totally unknown to science until researchers exploring the deep Pacific Ocean floor discovered strange, hydrothermal vents. Powered by volcanic heat, these vents recirculate water that seeps down through cracks or faults in the rock. When the water emerges from the vent, it is rich in chemicals and minerals. This toxic soup of chemicals would be lethal to most animals, so scientists were shocked to find entire ecosystems of animals living around these vents. In spite of the near boiling temperature of the water, these animals were thriving in the complete absence of light. The organisms that live near these vents are unique because, unlike all other living things on earth, they do not depend on sunlight for their source of energy. Instead, they feed on tiny bacteria that get their energy directly from the chemicals in the water through a process known as chemosynthesis.


Flat worm:

 A pink, leaflike flatworm settles on the seafloor, but these animals typically favor rocky bottom cover and aren’t so easily spotted. Flatworms are simple animals. They have no circulatory systems, and because their bodies are so flat, oxygen simply penetrates directly into tissue without the benefit of a respiratory system. Flatworms' mouths take in nutrients and also expel undigested waste. However, these worms are also accomplished predators. When they catch snails, bivalves, or other prey they simply wrap their bodies around their victims and inject them with digestive enzymes.The flatworms – Phylum Platyhelminthes – comprise a very diverse group of worms, with over 10,000 species described. Included within this large phylum are parasitic flatworms, such as tapeworms and liver flukes. Unlike many other kinds of worms, such as earthworms, flatworms do not have a body cavity containing organs – instead the body is a solid mass of tissue. There is no circulatory system either, and flatworms rely on diffusion to convey nutrients and waste products between cells. That is why flatworms are so flat and thin: no part of the interior of the body is far from the surface.


Spaghetti Worm:

This worm’s body is only 6 inches (15 centimeters) long, its tentacles may spread out over six times that length. Spaghetti worm tentacles employ grooves to channel small organic particles to the worm’s mouth, or simply grab and stuff larger morsels. If a tentacle is lost or snapped up by a fish, a new one can be grown to take its place.



Feather Duster Worm:

Feather-duster worms have a crown of feeding appendages or radioles in two fan-shaped clusters projecting from their tubes when under water. Each radiole has paired side branches making a two-edged comb for filter feeding. Most species have a narrow collar below the head. The body segments are smooth and lack parapodia. The usually eight thoracic segments bear capilliaries dorsally and hooked chaetae (bristles) ventrally. The abdominal segments are similar, but with the position of the capilliaries and chaetae reversed. The posterior few abdominal segments may form a spoon-shaped hollow on the ventral side. Size varies between tiny and over 10 cm (2.5 in) long.