Annelida · segmented worms
Bone-eating worm
Osedax rubiplumus
Siboglinidae · beard worms & vent wormsIUCN: Not evaluated
A deep-sea worm that colonizes whale skeletons on the seafloor.
Fun factIts genus name means 'bone devourer.'
- Waters
- Eastern Pacific
- Depth zone
- Deep sea & continental slope
- Diet
- Whale bones (via symbiotic bacteria)
- Size
- About 5 cm
Classification
Annelida › Siboglinidae
- Kingdom Animalia animals
- Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
- Cells have no cell walls
- Most can move at some stage of life
- Clade Bilateria bilateral animals
- Body has a left and right side that mirror each other (bilateral symmetry)
- Head end with concentrated nerves; three tissue layers
- Includes about 99% of all living animal species
- Clade Protostomia protostomes
- In the embryo, the first opening usually becomes the mouth
- Main nerve cord runs along the belly (ventral)
- Includes mollusks, worms, and arthropods
- Clade Spiralia mollusks, worms & kin
- Embryos usually divide in a spiral pattern (spiral cleavage)
- Many have a swimming larva with a band of cilia (trochophore)
- Includes mollusks and segmented worms
- Phylum Annelida segmented worms
- Segmented worms: body divided into repeated ring-like segments
- Bristles (chaetae) help many grip and move
- Includes bristle worms, earthworms, and leeches
- Clade Sedentaria tube-dwelling worms
- Tube-dwelling and burrowing worms
- Often have a crown of feeding tentacles or reduced side flaps
- Family Siboglinidae beard worms & vent worms
- Beard and vent worms with no mouth or gut as adults
- Get food from symbiotic bacteria inside their bodies
- Genus Osedax
- Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
- Species Osedax rubiplumus Bone-eating worm
Closest relatives in the guide
- Giant tube worm Riftia pachyptila same family