A giant shipworm was discovered in the Philippines.
GIANT SHIPWORM – In a bay in Mindanao, a giant shipworm was found by scientists from the Philippines and the United States.
Based on a recent news report in Rappler, the scientists who were part of the discovery of the giant shipworm were from University of the Philippines, Northeastern University, Sultan Kudarat State University, Drexel University, and University of Utah.
It is stated that the scientists were in a search for the Kuphus polythalamia, a giant shipworm, for several years already. The said shipworm is classified as a mollusc or relatives of squids and snails. Some even tagged the worm-like creature as the “unicorn of molluscs.”
According to the news report, Northeastern University’s Ocean Genome Legacy Center’s Director, Daniel Distel, expressed that it was during the 18th Century when the existence of the animal was initially put into record.
Distel, a research professor and lead investigator, also said that it was through the ‘tusk-like shells’ of the creature which ranges from 3 up to 5 feet in length that it was put into records. However, Distel said that the creature was never been viewed alive.
According to the report, it was during a documentary shown on the television that the search for the creature was given a lead.
In Mindanao, the scientists found a black creature living in a shell in a “marine bay formerly used as a log storage pond.” Based on the report, the creature is far different from the usual shipworms seen by the people.
What makes the said creature different is that it has adapted to a muddy habitat that is loaded with hydrogen sulfide and organic nutrients.
Based on the report, the team of scientists will keep on studying the peculiar creature. They are in the pursuit of discovering how the unique creature utilize the gas to exist.