Bone-munching worms found on Southern Ocean floor

Scientists have discovered two new species of a strange, bone-devouring worm thriving in waters that surround the Antarctic continent.

The Osedax worms feed on the bones of dead whales that settle on the sea floor, fulfilling an important recycling role, says a study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The worms, named Osedax antarcticus and Osedax deceptionensis, were discovered by an international team of scientists probing the fate of whale bones and shipwrecks on the Southern Ocean floor.

While the team revelled in their discovery, they were struck by a distinct absence of wood-eating molluscs known as Xylophagainae commonly found on deep-sea sunken wood.

"When we recovered bones and wood we'd put on the sea floor … the bones were infested by red-plumed Osedax worms but the wood planks were untouched, with not a trace of wood-eating worms," said Dr Adrian Glover of London's Natural History Museum.