Some of the Pacific's deepest hydrothermal vents are found in the Gulf of California, and they are covered in iridescent worms. There are pink, blue, red, black, and white worms.
The scale-worms are called Peinaleopolynoe because they were first found clustered around a pile of food on the deep-sea floor. For years they have been referred to as "Elvis worms" because of their sparkling scales.
There are at least six species of hungry scale-worms that live in the deep sea. Hiley and her colleagues named one of them after the king of rock'n'roll.
The ocean is a wild place. Sometimes it seems to border on the absurd, from fish that look up through transparent heads to golden snails with iron armour. We know a lot more about deep space than we do about the deep ocean. As mining companies push to industrialise the sea floor and global leaders squabble over how to protect the high seas, a new Guardian Seascape series will profile some of the most recently discovered weird, wonderful, majestic, ridiculous, hardcore and mind blowing creatures. They show how little is known about the environment on Earth.Q&AShow
Methane has been found on the carcasses of dead whales and on volcanic seamounts.
It is possible that the worms are feeding on the chemicals that grow on these habitats. They have jaws that we think they use to eatbacteria We think they're bacteriovores
When Hiley and colleagues carried out genetic tests on the scale-worms from the Pescadero basin, they found a single species. The species changes in colour as it gets older, we realized.
Light reflecting and refracting within the internal structure of the scales creates the worm's colors. The bioluminescence of other animals is what makes them sparkle in the deep sea, but it's not enough.
It is1-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-6556 is1-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-6556 Scales are blue. There are slightly thinner people. The littlest worms are usually white and flimsy.
The worm that eats bones was discovered in the depths.
When scientists collected scale-worms, they assumed their scales were damaged when they were picked up by a deep-diving robot and transferred to the surface. A scene was captured on camera at the Pescadero basin. This species does a fighting ritual.
The hungry scale-worms bounce on the spot and throw punches at each other. It was a piece of the puzzle that we didn't know about.
It's not clear why the worms are fighting. She says there are more observations to be made.
How hungry scale-worms evolved from ancestors living in shallow seas to be able to survive in the deep sea is one of the many puzzles Hiley wants to solve. There are clues in their genes.
There are some strange things on a genetic level with these deep-sea worms. The deep-sea scale-worms have a lot of variation in their order of genes compared to the worms that live in shallow waters. The worms have adapted to the depths of the ocean.
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