Lamellibrachia luymesi is a species of tube worms in the family Siboglinidae. It lives at deep-sea cold seeps where hydrocarbons (oil and methane) are leaking out of the seafloor. It is entirely reliant on internal, sulfide-oxidizing bacterial symbionts for its nutrition. These are located in a centrally located 'trophosome'. It provides the bacteria with hydrogen sulfide and oxygen by taking them up from the environment and binding them to a specialized hemoglobin molecule. It may help fuel the generation of sulfide by excreting sulfate through their roots into the sediments below the aggregations.

<< First 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 Forward> Last>>        807 pages in total