Riftia
Giant tube worm (species of annelid) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Riftia?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Riftia pachyptila, commonly known as the giant tube worm and less commonly known as the giant beardworm, is a marine invertebrate in the phylum Annelida[1] (formerly grouped in phylum Pogonophora and Vestimentifera) related to tube worms commonly found in the intertidal and pelagic zones. R. pachyptila lives on the floor of the Pacific Ocean near hydrothermal vents. The vents provide a natural ambient temperature in their environment ranging from 2 to 30 °C,[2] and this organism can tolerate extremely high hydrogen sulfide levels. These worms can reach a length of 3 m (9 ft 10 in),[3] and their tubular bodies have a diameter of 4 cm (1.6 in).
Giant tube worms | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Annelida |
Clade: | Pleistoannelida |
Clade: | Sedentaria |
Order: | Sabellida |
Family: | Siboglinidae |
Genus: | Riftia M. L. Jones, 1981 |
Species: | R. pachyptila |
Binomial name | |
Riftia pachyptila M. L. Jones, 1981 | |
Its common name "giant tube worm" is, however, also applied to the largest living species of shipworm, Kuphus polythalamius, which despite the name "worm", is a bivalve mollusc rather than an annelid.