Ridgeia piscesae is a tube worm found in a variety of environments on the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Found in clusters up to several square meters in area, these Polychaete’s lack a digestive tract, instead taking up organic carbon from symbiotic, chemoautotrophic bacteria found in their specially-evolved trophosomes. These bacteria oxidize sulfur in order to create organic material. Initially thought to be several species of the Ridgeia genus on the Juan de Fuca Ridge, genetic comparison showed that only one species existed, with various morphologies. The two extreme morphologies are the so-called long-skinny and fat-short forms.
