EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Riftia pachyptila, commonly known as the giant tube worm and less commonly known as the Giant beardworm, is a marine invertebrate in the phylum Annelida (formerly grouped in phylum Pogonophora and Vestimentifera) related to tube worms commonly found in the intertidal and pelagic zones.

Detailed explanation-2: -Colonies of these tubeworms live on hydrothermal vents spewing hot, mineral-rich water that, in some places, can reach an astounding 350 degrees Celsius (660 degrees Fahrenheit). Not only do these worms live where few other organisms dare go, they have a unique body plan and way of life.

Detailed explanation-3: -tube worm, any of a number of tube-dwelling marine worms belonging to the annelid class Polychaeta (see polychaete; feather-duster worm; tentacle worm). Other tube-dwelling worms include the horseshoe worm (phylum Phoronida) and the beardworm (phylum Pogonophora).

Detailed explanation-4: -A tubeworm is any worm-like sessile invertebrate that anchors its tail to an underwater surface and secretes around its body a mineral tube, into which it can withdraw its entire body.

Detailed explanation-5: -Cold-seep tubeworms are big worms (sometimes as big as 10 feet long) that are found only in places in the deep sea of the Gulf of Mexico called cold seeps. These worms are closely related to other giant tubeworms found around deep-sea hydrothermal vents. These giant worms lack a mouth, gut and anus.