By Amanda Ojeda, Eileen Wang, Elijah Silverman, Mallory Daniels, William DeMartinis, Paulina Bargnesi, and Veronica Bargnesi
Do you love bugs? Creepy crawlies? Well then, this is the perfect story to worm you up on a cold Halloween night. If you hate bugs, then this story will most definitely keep your bones chilling.
These 1-3 inch crawlers were first discovered in 2002, inhabiting the rotting bones of a gray whale. Just when you thought the villainous creatures couldn’t get any creepier, they have something every villain must have; a cool name. They go by the moniker Osedax.
Where are these creepy zombie worms from? They are located in the deep sea nearly 10,000 feet below the ocean. They were first discovered living inside rotting gray whales on the seafloor. Scientists say they have been around as long as whales have. The first fossil evidence was from 30 million years ago, where scientists had found them–once again–in the bones of whales.
These zombies don’t crave your brain; they seek your bones. Although small in appearance (only reaching about 3 inches in length), these worms are intimidating, as they digest the fats within the bone–that’s what they are after. An acid is secreted from their skin that dissolves the bones. Don’t worry about these little rascals getting to you, though, because they live only in the deep sea. Or, I guess you better try not to drown, then.
Plot twist: the only ones who do the heavy lifting in the drilling process are the females. Meanwhile, the microscopic males live inside the females’ bodies. One study counted 111 males in just one female worm! All of this, of course, has an evolutionary purpose. The males inhabiting the females leads to an easy reproductive ritual, resulting in many soon to be zombie babies prepping for their carcass apocalypse.
Are you shivering in your bones yet? Well, it’s safe to say that you’ll never view worms the same way as before…
