CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -A new species of bone-eating annelid, Osedaxbraziliensissp. n., found in a sunken whale carcass at a depth of 4, 204 m at the base of the São Paulo Ridge in the South Atlantic Ocean off the Brazilian coast is described.

Detailed explanation-2: -The bone-eating worms are in a new genus called “Osedax, ” which is Latin for “bone devourer.”

Detailed explanation-3: -Scientists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute using the submarine ROV Tiburon first discovered the genus in Monterey Bay, California, in February 2002. The worms were found living on the bones of a decaying gray whale in the Monterey Canyon, at a depth of 2, 893 m (9, 491 ft).

Detailed explanation-4: -Museum scientists have found that Osedax worms, which feed on the bones of whale carcasses, can live in shallow Mediterranean waters. Until now, it was thought that the worms could only live in colder waters, such as the Southern Ocean around Antarctica, or deep below the surface.

Detailed explanation-5: -Zombie worms don’t crave brains: instead they seek bones. The 1 to 3 inch (2 to 7 centimeter) Osedax worms were first discovered living in the bones of a rotting gray whale on the deep sea floor, nearly 10, 000 feet (3, 000 meters) deep, in 2002.