Friday, August 21, 2009

Weird "green bomber" sea worm

A new marine worm discovered off California has been given a really cool scientific name: Swima bombiviridis , the "swimming green bomber." The animal (the first species in a new genus - others have been spotted) can distract predators by casing off small blobs of tissue that glow green - starting to glow only after being separated from the main creature. Ranging from two to nine centimeters long, the worms are found at depths of 1,800 to 3,700 meters.
COMMENT: There are more species, especially invertebrates, in the oceans that we do not know than that we do. The age of deep-sea exploration is still just beginning.

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