Ranging from the smallest creatures to the larger ones, the blue planet is rich in fauna diversity. Every creature has different machinery to survive in a particular habitat being it either hot, cold, or moderate. Devil Worm Animal Surviving Deepest Earth
Living in different regions along with different dept, every animal is unique with numerous attributes. In this blog, we would lar about the species living at the deepest of our planet. Being genetically mapped, this organism is known to be an extremophile nematode.
Scientists discovered this organism to have existed in 2008 with its important capability to survive in most underground spaces where life seems next to impossible. Let us carry forward with the blog to detail out more regarding this organism.
About the Devil worm.
Halicephalobus Mephisto, also known as the devil worm is a nematode species. In the year 2011, it was primarily learned by two scientists together namely Gaetan Borgonie and Tullis Onstott.
The two discoverers observed it in an ore that was obtained from deep down rock fissure water at the gold mines. Being originally noticed in South Africa, this organism has been found to have resided in different depths of the earth.
For instance 0.9 km (0.56 mi), 1.3 km (0.81 mi), and 3.6 km (2.2 mi) beneath the topmost layer of earth. The discovery of this organism is so important as no other multicellular living organism had ever been identified at such a depth region of the blue planet.
Attributes.
There are some unique attributes associated with the Halicephalobus Mephisto which are mentioned as follows: Devil Worm Animal Surviving Deepest Earth
- H. Mephisto is capable of resisting a higher range of temperature varying from 37 -40 °C. This temperature is more than required by a terrestrial nematode to survive).
- This unique organism tends to reproduce asexually. All it requires is the energy to do so which it receives by engulfing the subterranean bacteria.
- The genome of this organism shows an extensive tendency to withstand higher temperatures and the saline habitat.
- According to the reports of radiocarbon dating, the devil worm has been sustaining the underground habitat for more than 12,000 years. Also, this organism can live in waters with enormously low levels of oxygen (even lower than oceans).
- The nomenclature of this organism is done after the Lord of the Underworld in the Faust story. The lord in the story is considered to have emerged from hell to bargain for the soul of Faust.
- The devil worm is named Mephistopheles and it mentions a fact that this organism is found so deep in the Earth’s core region.
More to know.
The devil worm is the only deepest living animal known to date. Surviving in such a habitat this organism tends to withstand excessive heat and grave pressure. Before the finding of H. Mephisto, another organism named Plectus aquatilis was found at such depths.
The difference lies in the length and depth of discovery of these two organisms. With such a comparison, Halicephalobus Mephisto worms are known to have nearly 0.5 to 0.56 mm of body length, far more than P. aquatilis with a comparatively longer tail.
