Giant shipworm unearthed in Philippines
Print Edition
AN enormous black worm that lives in the mud of the sea floor and survives on the remnants of noxious gases digested by bacteria has been unveiled by scientists for the first time.
The slimy giant shipworm can grow up to 155 centimeters in length, despite living a sedentary life in ocean sediment and eating nothing more than the waste products of the micro-organisms that live in its gills.
“We are amazed. This is the first time we saw a shipworm as large as this. Usually, shipworms are only as short as a matchstick and are white,” Filipino marine biologist Julie Albano said.
The shipworm is not a worm at all, but a bivalve — like mussels and clams — and has its own brittle, tusk-like shell.
Also known by its scientific name Kuphus Polythalamia, the mollusc is radically different from its smaller shipworm cousins, which burrow in — and digest — wood.
Researchers who analyzed the creature found that although it had its own digestive system, this was shrunken and appeared to be largely redundant.
Instead, the shipworm relies on bacteria that live in its gills, which digest hydrogen sulphide — a gas that smells of rotten eggs — from the mud and emit traces of carbon.
Albano said the giant shipworm was found in the Philippines coastal town of Kalamansig in southern Sultan Kudarat province and its bacteria are now being studied for possible pharmaceutical use.
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