A bizarre worm with ten 'arms' has been discovered almost 3,000 metres below the ocean surface near Indonesia. Teuthidodrilus samae (pictured) is a newly identified genus and species of free-swimming annelid worm. Karen Osborn, currently at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and her colleagues report that it seems to be common deep in the Celebes Sea.
The 'squidworms' can reach 94 millimetres in length, and their appendages can be even longer. The worms have probably avoided detection for so long because of their ability to swim away from sampling gear and the difficulties of exploring the vast ocean depths. The strange creature shows how little we know about even common members of the sea's deep-water communities, say the authors.
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Zoology: Showcasing the sea's strange secrets. Nature 468, 602 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/468602a
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/468602a
