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| This picture is taken from: http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/sfs/popup/life_vc_tubeworms.htm.) |
Tubeworms (Riftia Pachyptila) live in the hydrothermal vents on the Pacific Ocean floor. Here, the conditions are harsh. The liquid from the hot vents mixes with the cold seawater. Tubeworms look like giant lipsticks and can grow to approximately 3 meters (8 feet) tall. They live in white tubes that are made of chitin, a tough, natural material that is chemically related to cellulose.
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| The chemical structure of chitin. (This picture was taken from: http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/biology/bio4fv/page/chitin.html.) |
These strange creatures do not have a mouth, eyes, or a stomach. They have a symbiotic relationship with the bacteria that live inside them, which ensures their survival. The bacteria convert the chemicals from the vents into food for the worms through the process of chemosynthesis. The red part of the tubeworm ia where it breaths. The blood in this part of the tubeworm has a special kinds of hemoglobin that has a very high chance of reacting with the oxygen in the seawater.
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