Bone-eating snot-flower

[Jaymes]

Heheh, I figured that'd get your attention! That's what they named a new species of worm:
The creature was found on a minke carcass in relatively shallow water close to Tjarno Marine Laboratory on the Swedish coast.

Such "zombie worms", as they are often called, are known from the deep waters of the Pacific but their presence in the North Sea is a major surprise.

A UK-Swedish team reports the find in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Adrian Glover and Thomas Dahlgren tell the journal the new species has been named Osedax mucofloris, which literally means "bone-eating snot-flower".

Kinda ugly. :areyoucra I imagine something has to be done with the whale bones, though.

 

[michel]

Nature has a wonderfull framework, in which all creatures play a part.

That is one of the areas we humans are very slow to understand; to everything there is a purpose..........

These little guys have too - shame about the name though :biglaugh:

 

[painted wolf]

I love the name... very discriptive.
They are flower-like and very slimy... better than 'zombie worm' IMHO

As for being surpized they are in the North Sea, I'm not... they are a part of the breakdown of a once common food supply. I expect they live in every ocean where there are large ceticeans.

Its a really facinating sort of environment... whale falls are in essence there own eccosystems and at their depths they are sunless ones. Its just another reminder that the fate of one species (whales) impacts that of many others.

wa:do

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I think the "zombie-worm" is a better name. I see the 'bone-eating snot-flower' to be degrading. I think it does look more like a plant than worm.

 

[painted wolf]

"zombie" to me connotes a shambling undead thing intent on killing and eating brains.

it definatly eats bones... and only bones. It is flower like and it is snotty... It may not be 'flattering' but it definatly lets you know what they are talking about. Which is after all the point of the names to begin with. Unlike 'zombie worm' which brings up images of hords of shambling undead worms. :biglaugh:

I don't really see it as degrading... certenly not any more than any other scientific name.
If anything the Chimpanzee has a worse name : Pan troglodytus...
evil little canabalistic devolved humanoids associated with the letcherous animalistic god Pan. (not to insult Pan but he has a negitive sterotype in the era where his name was givin to the chimp. )

wa:do

 

[Valjean]

Lovely!

Do they prefer full sun, or shade? :biglaugh: