Annelid · marine worm

Pigbutt worm

Chaetopterus pugaporcinus

PacificAtlanticIndianSouthernArctic A single ocean

Depth

About 820 to 2,200 m, in open water

Size

Up to 2.1 cm, the size of a hazelnut

Diet

Marine snow that it catches in a cloud of mucus

Zone

Midnight zone · 1,000 m and deeper

Key facts

• Its round, cleft body looks like a pig’s buttocks, hence its scientific name.
• Its cousins live in tubes on the bottom. It floats in open water and keeps larval features.
• It produces a blue light in its body and a mucus that glows green.
• Discovered in 2001 by an MBARI robot off California.

Verified sources

1. MBARI : Pigbutt worm
2. National Geographic : Behold the pigbutt worm

In the game: To observe

In the same zone

Helmet jellyfishPeriphylla periphylla Atolla jellyfishAtolla wyvillei FangtoothAnoplogaster cornuta Stoplight loosejawMalacosteus niger Pelican eelEurypharynx pelecanoides Humpback anglerfishMelanocetus johnsonii