Enemy of the Day: Polychaete Worms

They're not really enemies in the traditional sense.  They aren't super destructive or extremely evil.  They're just...ugly...and creepy.  Like all ecosystems, the ocean has its share of bizarre and strange scavengers.  The polychaete worm pretty much fits that bill.

Sea worms have been in existence for millions of years.  In fact, deep sea expeditions always records no less than 10 new species of sea worm each time.  But that doesn't mean we should get all excited about 'em...they're worms. They come in all different shapes and sizes.  Sometimes they look pretty innocuous.  Like the deep sea vent worms.  They look very similar to pretty feathers.  Except they're worms.  It's hard to be a fan of something that lacks eyes, mouths, or other discerning features that would otherwise make it more lovable.  One of the odd traits of sea worms is that they do not have a straight forward line in evolutionary paths.  Sometimes when they are discovered, they are more rudimentary than previously discovered ones.  Who knew?  C'mon...it's a worm...how can you go backwards from there?

To their credit though, they do perform some interesting job functions.  Most of the time they are a lot like the Dept. of Sanitation for parts of the ocean.  They'll clean up scraps, sometimes even burrowing into bones to get the last bit of protein.  Some species feed solely off of bacteria floating through the ocean.  However, with their ability to rapidly produce, it begs the question, what is their purpose after the initial task?  Does a whale carcass really need tens of thousands of worms just hanging around afterwards?  No one like loiterers, not even in the ocean.