osedax worms
kthompson | November 11, 2009
Robert Vrijenhoek and Shannon Johnson (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute), and Greg Rouse (Scripps) have recently completed research aimed at classifying 12 new lineages of Osedax worms as their very own species. Upon their 2004 discovery in Monterey Bay, geneticists classified them under the polychaete annelid family Siboglinidae. Since then, approximately 17 distinct lineages have been found, making the "Osedax as full animal kingdom citizens" movement strong.
"Why should I care", you ask.
Say you were a whale from Monterey Bay and your time had come to go on to the great whale…