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Domain: oceansonline.com
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Stories · 1
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Bizarre Bone-eating Worms Inhabit Whale Falls
Chuck1318 writes "MSNBC reports the discovery of a species of bone-eating worms that live on whale carcasses on the sea floor. The female worm grows "roots" into the whale bones, which contain bacteria that help the worm digest fats from the bones. The tiny males live inside the female, sometimes over a hundred inside a single female. Whale falls provide important oases of nourishment on the sea floor, somewhat analogous to the communities of life around hydrothermal vents."