Terrifying ‘zombie worms’ that eat bones by boring into them to get at nutrients – The Mirror

Osedax worms have been given the nickname 'zombie worms' as they crave the bones of whales that have fallen to the depths of the ocean floor

Zombie worms, which are scientifically called Osedax, feed on dead whale skeletons that have fallen to the ocean floor.

Although they enjoy chowing down on bones, these deep-sea animals don't have mouths or even stomachs.

Instead, 'zombie worms' have something called a root system which is similar to plants.

In order to 'eat' the creature's roots bore into bones and digest the nutritious fats and oils inside.

Although they sound like terrifying animals straight out of a horror movie, humans don't have to worry about these bone-eating creatures.

Get the news you want straight to your inbox Sign up for a Mirror newsletter here

According to Wonderopolis, zombie worms are much more interested in whale bones than they are in people and are probably unaware we exist.

Especially as these deep-sea animals live up to 13,000 feet (4,000 meters) below the surface.

Despite not many people knowing zombie worms exist, the oldest evidence of Osedax worms is a 30 million-year-old whale bone.

However, there is evidence of other organisms that eat bones which date back even further than this.

This isn't the only unusual thing that has been found at the bottom of the ocean recently either.

While exploring Hawaii the crew of Exploration Vessel Nautilus spotted an unusual rock formation that looked very similar to a mythical man-made yellow brick road.

The dried 'yellow brick road' lake bed, at the summit of Nootka Seamount has now been identified as a fractured flow of hyaloclastite rock.

This is essentially a volcanic rock formed in high-energy eruptions where many rock fragments settle to the seabed.

Read More

Read More

Continued here:
Terrifying 'zombie worms' that eat bones by boring into them to get at nutrients - The Mirror

Related Post

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero
This entry was posted in Zombie. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.