Recently released video footage shows a strange seafloor creature covered in orange and spaghetti-like appendages. There is a type of marine worm called a polychaete and it is also known as a spaghetti worm.
The researchers from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute captured footage of the pasta-mimicking worm in 2012 while they were exploring the Gulf of California off the coast of Mexico. The video was released to celebrate World Polychaete Day.
The species of worm spaghetti that has yet to be officially named is in fact in the same family as the other ones. It has no eyes or gills and uses its colorful tentacles to catch the tiny pieces of organic debris that it feeds on.
Spaghetti worms live in burrows or tunnels below the ocean and only eat bits of food. The worm has been seen swimming through the water or crawling along the bottom to find food.
A deep-sea squid mother carries an egg.
The spaghetti worm species was discovered in the Gulf of California by another group of researchers. Scientists are still trying to name the species nearly two decades later.
"Although giving a species its own name would seem to be a simple process, it actually takes a lot of time and dedication to collect specimen, examine key features, sequence the DNA and assign a scientific name," according to the statement.
It's not clear how deep this worm can live, but most of the time it occurs below 6,000 feet.
The spaghetti worm shows how little scientists know about deep-sea species and their role in the environment. As many deep-sea ecosystems are being degraded by destructive practices like deep-sea mining or trawling, it's vital that we continue to explore the deep ocean.
"There are many more wonderful worms waiting to be discovered in the ocean's mysterious depths," the representatives said.
It was originally published on Live Science
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