Annelid · marine worm

Giant tube worm

Riftia pachyptila

PacificAtlanticIndianSouthernArctic A single ocean

Depth

About 2,000 to 2,600 m, around hydrothermal vents

Size

Up to about 2 m, including the tube

Diet

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

Zone

The sea floor · 200 – 3,500 m

Key facts

• It has no mouth and no gut. Bacteria live inside its body and make its food from the chemicals of the hot vents.
• Its plume is bright red thanks to the hemoglobin in its blood, which carries oxygen and sulfur to the bacteria.
• It is the fastest-growing marine invertebrate: more than 80 cm in a year.
• It was discovered in 1977 on the Galápagos Rift, at the same time as the hydrothermal vents themselves.

Verified sources

1. AMNH, The Deep Dark World of the Tubeworm
2. Animal Diversity Web, Riftia pachyptila
3. Smithsonian Ocean, Tubeworms on a Hydrothermal Vent
4. NOAA Ocean Explorer, Galápagos Rift 2005

In the game: To observe

In the same zone

Pompeii wormAlvinella pompejana Yeti crabKiwa hirsuta Japanese spider crabMacrocheira kaempferi Giant Pacific octopusEnteroctopus dofleini Casper ghost octopusUndescribed incirrate octopus Giant vent clamCalyptogena magnifica