tubeworms
Seafloor vent inhabitants
Tubeworms are marine worms that secrete and live within protective tubes attached to hard surfaces.
Some species cluster around deep-sea hydrothermal vents, thriving without sunlight by hosting bacteria that convert chemicals into energy.
Others build calcareous tubes on rocks, shells, and ship hulls.
The feathery appendages they extend for feeding retract instantly when disturbed.
Extremely deep, unmeasurable
- benthicOf the sea bottom
- seafloorOcean's solid base
- submersibleUnderwater exploration vehicle
- pressureForce upon contact
darkness · exploration · Alvin · ROV · sediment · ecosystem · zonation
Opening for airflow
- chemosynthesisEnergy from chemical reactions
- sulfideCompound with element sixteen
- extremophileLife in harsh conditions
- mineral-richHigh in inorganic nutrients
geothermal · plume · chimney · endemic · colonizer · hemoglobin
Segmented marine annelid
- annelidSegmented worm phylum member
- invertebrateAnimal sans backbone
- speciesFinest taxonomic rank
- genusTaxonomic rank above species
Circular in cross-section
- plumeOrnamental feather or rising column
- calcareousContainingite calcium carbonate chalk
- chitinArthropod shell polymer
- sessileAttached at base
segmented · tentacles · branchial · anchored · feathery · retractable · crown · filter-feeding
abyssal
Extremely deep, unmeasurable
- benthicOf the sea bottom
- seafloorOcean's solid base
- submersibleUnderwater exploration vehicle
pressure · darkness · exploration · Alvin · ROV · sediment · ecosystem · zonation
vent
Opening for airflow
- chemosynthesisEnergy from chemical reactions
- sulfideCompound with element sixteen
- extremophileLife in harsh conditions
mineral-rich · geothermal · plume · chimney · endemic · colonizer · hemoglobin
polychaete
Segmented marine annelid
- annelidSegmented worm phylum member
- invertebrateAnimal sans backbone
- speciesFinest taxonomic rank
cylindrical
Circular in cross-section
- plumeOrnamental feather or rising column
- calcareousContainingite calcium carbonate chalk
- chitinArthropod shell polymer
sessile · segmented · tentacles · branchial · anchored · feathery · retractable · crown · filter-feeding · elongated
- invertebratesinvertebrate, arthropod, arthropods, mollusk, crustacean
- wormsearthworms, nightcrawler, roundworms, flatworms, tapeworms
- intertidal zonetide pool, tide pools, rock pool, rockpool, rockpools
- biofoulingbarnacles, mussels, biofilm, blue mussels, zebra mussels
- segmented wormsearthworms, lugworms, sandworms, bloodworms, fireworms
- ocean divingscuba, scuba diving, scuba gear, diver, dive
tubewormsphytoplankton
Photosynthetic aquatic drifters
coral · kelp · seagrass · tide pool creatures
tubewormsearthworms
Soil-dwelling segmented invertebrates
leeches · flatworms · nudibranchs · sea slugs