Osedax “Zombie” Worms Fed On Giant Ancient Reptiles
Osedax “zombie” worms were believed to be a regularly new species, but new findings show they have been around as long as the dinosaurs. They are very likely the culprits behind our limited knowledge and fossil discovery of giant ancient reptiles as they consumed the bones that were left behind. There are many scientific institutions currently working on understanding the features and behaviors of these worms.
Effects of Osedax Worms on Paleontology
The Osedax “zombie” worms, as seen at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute , were discovered back in 2002 originally, but the understanding of these worms has dramatically increased in recent years with the advancements of deep-sea exploration. The worms are now believed to be the culprits of many lost fossils as it has been discovered that they existed back among the first…show more content… By consuming the bones of these giants before they had a chance to be buried and fossilized, there is no telling how much we have really lost of this ancient time in Earth’s history.
New Species of Worm Discovered
The good news with all the new findings is that scientists have been able to further discover and research the Osedax “zombie” worms and understand how they consume bone, and what their burrowing techniques are. This line of study has also led to the discovery of hundreds of new species of worms that perform very much the same function as these Osedax “zombie” worms do.
These worms are able to consume bone through a unique system. As they do not possess digestive systems or mouths, they use bone-like tendrils to penetrate the bone and then absorb the nutrients through the tendrils. They are also found in large groups, so it is not out of the realm of possibility that massive numbers of skeletons could be consumed in a very short period of time.
Future Paleontology
