Whale Falls – the only use for a whale

Whale Falls are the ecosystem that builds around a whale’s corpse at the bottom of the ocean.

They are pretty awesome. My local aquarium (Aquarium of the Pacific) has a replica of a whale fall. It’s my favorite exhibit. Ever.

Monterey Bay aquarium posted this great video about some really cool worms. Called Osedax. Which is latin for BONE DEVOURER. I mean… wow, right??? Hard core!!

Photomontage of the whale fall in Monterey Canyon, as it appeared in February 2002, soon after its discovery. Note the large numbers of red worms carpeting its body. The small pink animals in the foreground are scavenging sea cucumbers.

Here is the official ‘blurb’ and video: “Little red worms grow in thick carpet all over the bones of a dead whale on the deep seafloor. These worms, called Osedax, Latin for bone devourer, have no mouth or guts, but they do have roots that penetrate the bones and branch into the marrow cavity. Bacteria living in the roots digest fats and protein from bone marrow.”

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