Mar. 12,
2013 — How do bone-eating worms reproduce? A new study by Norio Miyamoto
and colleagues from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
sheds light on this question through a detailed observation of the
postembryonic development and sexual maturation of Osedax worms, also known as
"zombie worms." These worms typically inhabit vertebrate bones on the
seafloor.
The study is
published online in Springer's journal Naturwissenschaften -- The Science of
Nature.
 |
An adult female exposed from a bone.
(Credit: Norio Miyamoto/Naturwissenschaften)
|
Osedax is
Latin for "bone-devourer," which refers to how the worms bore into
the bones of whale carcasses to reach enclosed fats and oils, on which they
rely for sustenance. The first two species of Osedax were discovered by
scientists in 2002. To date, information about the postembryonic development of
these marine worms, Osedax species, is lacking. In order to understand their
development and maturation, Miyamoto and team induced settlement of the
bone-eating worm's larvae (Osedax japonicus specifically) by adding small
pieces of whale bone to the petri dishes in which they were cultivating the
larvae. After a period of time, they dissected the bones to observe the
juvenile worms.
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