DEEP-SEA WORM LOOKS LIKE A LUMINOUS LUMP OF SPAGHETTI
A bizarre seafloor creature covered with luminous orange spaghetti-like tentacles recently made its internet debut in newly released video footage. The unusual pom-pomshaped creature is a type of segmented marine worm known as a polychaete and belongs to an appropriately named group: spaghetti worms. Researchers from the Monterey Bay Aquarium
Research Institute (MBARI) captured footage of the pasta-mimicking worm in 2012 using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) while they were exploring the Gulf of California off the coast of Mexico.
This particular species of spaghetti worm has yet to be officially named, but it belongs to the genus Biremis. It has no eyes or gills and uses its colourful tentacles to catch tiny pieces of organic detritus, also known as marine snow, that it feeds on. Most spaghetti worms live in burrows or tunnels below the seafloor and only poke their noodlelike tentacles into the water to snatch up bits of food. But this Biremis worm spends its life above ground and has previously been observed swimming through the water or crawling along the seafloor to find locations where food is plentiful. It is unclear exactly how deep this worm can reside, but a majority of sightings have occurred below 2,000 metres beneath the surface.