EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -The tube is made out of a hard substance called chitin, the same material found in the outer skeletons of crabs and shrimp. The tubes protect the worms from predators and the toxic chemicals from the vents. They also serve as an outer skeleton, supporting the worm. A worm can never leave its tube.

Detailed explanation-2: -The world’s heaviest worms thrive in an extreme environment. Towering colonies of giant tubeworms (Riftia pachyptila) grow where hot, mineral-laden water flows out of the deep seafloor. Unlike most animals, they don’t eat; instead, bacteria living in their guts transform sulfur into energy for them.

Detailed explanation-3: -The worms have no mouth, no gut, and no anus, and instead they get their nutrition from symbiotic bacteria that harness the energy and hydrogen sulfide and use it to fix carbon and make the food that feeds the worm.

Detailed explanation-4: -Tubeworms use hydrogen sulfide as an energy source, which is the same chemical emitted by a rotten egg. A group of stained tubeworms.