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Deep-sea creatures are uniquely adapted to life in extreme environments, and the worm Paralvinella hessleri is no exception.
Paralvinella hessleri belongs to the Alvinellidae family, a group of small tube worms that are adapted to some of the most extreme environments on Earth.
These worms are found only at the hottest hydrothermal vents in the western Pacific, including the Okinawa Trough, which runs parallel to the Ryūkyū Islands, Japan, and the Mariana Basin (Mariana Trench), with its deepest known point at around 11,000 meters.
In fact, Paralvinella hessleri survives high concentrations of toxic chemicals such as arsenic by producing its own poison.
Remarkably, Paralvinella hessleri is the only known animal that can colonize and thrive in the acidic, metal-rich zones of these vents, where temperatures can reach up to 608 degrees Fahrenheit (320 degrees Celsius).
These worms have an unusual survival trick that allows them to withstand the high concentrations of toxic arsenic and sulfide found at hydrothermal vents.
In humans, exposure to arsenic causes serious health problems, including cancer and neurological disorders, but Paralvinella hessleri turns this danger into a protective mechanism: it stores arsenic in its skin cells, where the toxin reacts with sulfide from the vent fluids to form auripigment—a less harmful but still toxic mineral.
This bright yellow-orange substance, formerly known as “royal yellow,” was historically used as a pigment by artists until its toxicity became known. The deep-sea worm, which has a yellow-orange coloration due to the auripigment crystals, can accumulate so much arsenic that it accounts for almost 1% of the worm's body weight.
Etymology:
Robert “Bob” Hessler, a scientist at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography who made the deep sea known as a place of rich and complex biodiversity, died on October 17 at a hospice in Douglas, Arizona. He was 87 years old.
Paralvinella hessleri belongs to the Alvinellidae family, a group of small tube worms that are adapted to some of the most extreme environments on Earth.
These worms are found only at the hottest hydrothermal vents in the western Pacific, including the Okinawa Trough, which runs parallel to the Ryūkyū Islands, Japan, and the Mariana Basin (Mariana Trench), with its deepest known point at around 11,000 meters.
In fact, Paralvinella hessleri survives high concentrations of toxic chemicals such as arsenic by producing its own poison.
Remarkably, Paralvinella hessleri is the only known animal that can colonize and thrive in the acidic, metal-rich zones of these vents, where temperatures can reach up to 608 degrees Fahrenheit (320 degrees Celsius).
These worms have an unusual survival trick that allows them to withstand the high concentrations of toxic arsenic and sulfide found at hydrothermal vents.
In humans, exposure to arsenic causes serious health problems, including cancer and neurological disorders, but Paralvinella hessleri turns this danger into a protective mechanism: it stores arsenic in its skin cells, where the toxin reacts with sulfide from the vent fluids to form auripigment—a less harmful but still toxic mineral.
This bright yellow-orange substance, formerly known as “royal yellow,” was historically used as a pigment by artists until its toxicity became known. The deep-sea worm, which has a yellow-orange coloration due to the auripigment crystals, can accumulate so much arsenic that it accounts for almost 1% of the worm's body weight.
Etymology:
Robert “Bob” Hessler, a scientist at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography who made the deep sea known as a place of rich and complex biodiversity, died on October 17 at a hospice in Douglas, Arizona. He was 87 years old.
