【】

Hidden beneath its tusk-like shell is a jet-black, slippery and slimy sea creature that looks like it came off the set of 。 Alien。.。
Scientists said on Monday that they've discovered the first living specimen of a giant shipworm in a Philippine bay.。
SEE ALSO:Killer whales toss boats like toys while hunting a sea lion 。People have known of the huge mollusc for hundreds of years, by the shells they've left behind that were the size of baseball bats. But scientists have only seen dead specimens.。
Via Giphy。"To me, [finding the giant shipworm] is almost like finding a dinosaur -- something that was pretty much only known by fossils," Dan Distel, research professor at Northeastern University, told the Guardian.。

The discovery is akin to finding the "unicorn" of mollusks.。
The discovery is akin to finding the "unicorn" of mollusks.。 Distel and his team published the find on Monday in the 。Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences。
. The discovery, they said, is akin to finding the "unicorn" of mollusks.。
Via Giphy。 Via Giphy。Haygood told。
Popular Science 。
that the team discovered a population of the shipworms, and sent five of them to a laboratory, where they opened the giant shipworm's hard, calcified tube.。She said it was nearly as heavy as a branch. A fully-grown shipworm can reach up to a metre (3.3 ft) long. 。 She said it was nearly as heavy as a branch. A fully-grown shipworm can reach up to a metre (3.3 ft) long.。 Via Giphy 。
Unlike its shipworm cousins, which burrow into rotting wood, this giant shipworm, K. polythalamia。
lives on hydrogen sulfide, that which gives eggy farts their potent kick.。
K. polythalamia 。rarely eats anything else -- its digestive system is stunted, and scientists have found little to no fecal matter in its body.。
Hydrogen sulfide -- released from decaying vegetation and rotting animals in the swamps where it lives -- is digested by symbiotic bacteria that lives in the giant shipworm's outsize gills. The bacteria then produces carbon compounds the giant shipworm consumes.。 Via Giphy。There are still many questions about the giant shipworm -- for instance, scientists have yet to discover its life cycle, and how to measure its age. 。
"Are the specimens we studied a couple years old, or a couple hundred?
"Are the specimens we studied a couple years old, or a couple hundred?" Haygood told。
Popular Science 。
.。The mollusk's discovery shows how little we know about life on Earth, she added. "Isn't it remarkable that you can find such a bizarre creature in the 21st century? I'm in favor of investigating alien life, but we should put just as much effort into figuring out life down here." 。 I'm in favor of investigating alien life, but we should put just as much effort into figuring out life down here." 。Featured Video For You 。Why get a puppy when you can have a snuggly lizard instead?
相关文章
Australian football makes history with first LGBT Pride Game
The rainbow flag took over Melbourne's Etihad Stadium Saturday night in a powerful statement of acce2025-04-03I spent my morning at New York's new Taylor Swift Experience
Welcome to New York, now home of the Taylor Swift Experience. The small museum, dedicated entirely t2025-04-03Some other dude named Mike Pence is owning his @mikepence Twitter handle
Governor Mike Pence, a.k.a. the Vice President-elect of the U.S., doesn't own the @mikepence Twitter2025-04-03- Ah, New York City taxi drivers. They're our best friends when we're drunk, and our worst enemies whe2025-04-03
Donald Trump's tangled web of Russian influence
Donald Trump has had ties to Russia for decades, but they've thickened as his campaign for the White2025-04-03Google Maps may soon let Indians locate clean public toilets
Google might be working with the Indian government to help fix the country’s big sanitation pr2025-04-03
最新评论