Bone-Eating Worms Spread: Insights into Shallow-Water Osedax (Annelida, Siboglinidae) from Antarctic, Subantarctic, and Mediterranean Waters

• Published in: PLOS ONE
• Main Authors: Taboada, Sergi, Riesgo, Ana, Bas, Maria, Arnedo, Miquel A., Cristobo, Javier, Rouse, Greg W., Avila, Conxita
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science 2015
• Subjects: Research Article; Antarctic; Deception Island; Pacific; South Georgia Island; Southern Ocean; Antarc*; Antarctica; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4651350/; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26581105; https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0140341

Osedax, commonly known as bone-eating worms, are unusual marine annelids belonging to Siboglinidae and represent a remarkable example of evolutionary adaptation to a specialized habitat, namely sunken vertebrate bones. Usually, females of these animals live anchored inside bone owing to a ramified r...