Annelid · marine worm

Centenarian tubeworm

Lamellibrachia luymesi

PacificAtlanticIndianSouthernArctic A single ocean

Depth

About 500 to 1,000 m, on cold seeps

Size

More than 2 m long

Diet

Nothing through the mouth: it is fed by the bacteria it hosts

Zone

The sea floor · 200 – 3,500 m

Key facts

• A 2 m worm is between 170 and 250 years old. It is one of the longest-living non-colonial invertebrates.
• It grows very slowly, about 1 cm per year, whereas its hot-vent cousin grows more than a meter per year.
• It pushes a “root” into the mud that absorbs sulfur for its bacteria.
• Its bushes can contain 500 to 2,000 worms.

Verified sources

1. Penn State, Tube worms in deep sea discovered to have record long life spans
2. Penn State, Secret to longevity of tubeworms
3. Freytag et al. 2001, PNAS, Sulfide acquisition by roots of seep tubeworms
4. Animal Diversity Web, Lamellibrachia luymesi

In the game: To observe

In the same zone

Vent octopusVulcanoctopus hydrothermalis Bone-eating snailRubyspira osteovora Methane ice wormSirsoe methanicola (formerly Hesiocaeca methanicola) Bamboo coralKeratoisis sp. (family Isididae, broadly defined) Bubblegum coralParagorgia arborea Carnivorous umbrella spongeCladorhiza kensmithi