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Here we are at Tuesday
and also the first day of term three of the school year so I had to
take Leo to school this morning and he was happy to be going back to
school. On the way to school I had to call in at my parents place to
pick up some money mum wanted me to bank for her and Leo ran in to
get the money and he told my mum he was happy to see her sitting in
her chair in the kitchen and not in hospital.
This weeks
indestructible creature is the Giant Tube Worm, heard of it? Nope, me
either........
It can be found around
1500metres or 5000ft under the sea, at that depth hydrothermal vents
bubble with boiling chemical filled water, its pitch black and the
water pressure is great enough to squash a human flat. This is not a
great place to live but the giant tube worm is happy there.
Each worm lives in its
own tube anchored to the seabed and can grow to more than 2.4metres
long that is 8ft just so you know. Hundreds of tube worms cluster
together in their deep sea vent home.
Most animals need to
eat other living things to stay alive but the giant tube worm don't
eat food at all, as they have no mouth and no stomach. Instead their
body has lots of bacteria living inside it, the worm's red plume
collects minerals dissolved in the vent water and the bacteria inside
its body feed on these and turn them into food chemicals that feed
the worm from the inside.
Hi, Jo-Anne!
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying your series on Indestructible Creatures, dear friend, and the Giant Tube Worm is one of the most bizarre! The conditions you described at the bottom of a mile deep ocean seem so impossibly harsh it is hard to imagine any living thing surviving, let alone thriving. Those red tipped tubes are beautiful in their own way, and the manner in which they nourish themselves is fascinating.
Thank you very much for this report, dear friend Jo-Anne!
I have heard of it, but I was a nature freak from way back. I'm glad at what Leo found as well, Let them know they are still on the prayer list.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of it and although the graphic makes them look really ugly, the red and white colors when you see them in a picture make them actually look pretty,
ReplyDelete