• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Thursday, October 30, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Biology

Giant sand worm discovery proves truth is stranger than fiction

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
January 21, 2021
in Biology
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
IMAGE
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Trace fossil reveals more about this ancient creature’s behavior

IMAGE

Credit: Masakazu Nara

Simon Fraser University researchers have found evidence that large ambush-predatory worms–some as long as two metres–roamed the ocean floor near Taiwan over 20 million years ago. The finding, published today in the journal Scientific Reports, is the result of reconstructing an unusual trace fossil that they identified as a burrow of these ancient worms.

According to the study’s lead author, SFU Earth Sciences PhD student, Yu-Yen Pan, the trace fossil was found in a rocky area near coastal Taiwan. Trace fossils are part of a research field known as ichnology. “I was fascinated by this monster burrow at first glance,” she says. “Compared to other trace fossils which are usually only a few tens of centimetres long, this one was huge; two-metres long and two-to-three centimetres in diameter. The distinctive, feather-like structures around the upper burrow were also unique and no previously studied trace fossil has shown similar features.”

Pan and SFU Earth Sciences professor Shahin Dashtgard are part of an international team that named the homes of these ancient giant worms Pennichnus formosae. Pan initiated the work while completing her M.Sc. degree under the supervision of Professor Ludvig Löwemark, from the Department of Geosciences at National Taiwan University, Taiwan.

After investigating 319 specimens preserved in early Miocene strata (22 million – 20 million years ago) in northeast Taiwan, the morphological model of this trace fossil was constructed.

“Shahin encouraged us to reach out to marine biologists, marine photographers and aquarium keepers to compare the burrows to biological analogs, which enabled us to reach the conclusion that this trace fossil was produced by giant, ambush-predatory worms,” says Pan.

The modern-day Bobbit worm, which is also large and predatory, is sometimes called the ‘sand striker,’ sensing prey with its antennae, then grabbing them with its powerful jaws, and retreating into its burrow. When it burrows, its body occupies the whole burrow which explains the two-metre-long burrow observed in Pennichnus.

Further analysis revealed a high concentration of iron around the upper burrow, leading researchers to believe the worm secreted mucus to reinforce and rebuild its burrow wall after each feeding.

Modern Bobbit worm burrow openings are similar to that of Pennichnus, suggesting that the sediment collapsed into the burrow upon retreating or pulling still live prey below the seafloor.

Marine predatory worms have existed since the early Palaeozoic (> 400 million years ago), but their soft tissue bodies decay leaving little trace of their existence behind. Pennichnus formosae is believed to be the first known trace fossil produced by a sub-surface ambush predator, allowing researchers a rare opportunity to learn more about this ancient sand striker’s behaviour.

###

Media Contact
Melissa Shaw
[email protected]

Original Source

http://www.sfu.ca/sfunews/stories/2021/01/giant-sand-worm-discovery-proves-truth-is-stranger-than-fiction.html

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-79311-0

Tags: Earth SciencePaleontology
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

How Protein Binding to Fraying DNA Unlocks the Mystery Behind a Global Illness

How Protein Binding to Fraying DNA Unlocks the Mystery Behind a Global Illness

October 30, 2025
UC Riverside Scientist Honored by American Federation for Aging Research

UC Riverside Scientist Honored by American Federation for Aging Research

October 30, 2025

New Study Explores Crucial Hormone in Fertility Preservation for Women with Cancer

October 30, 2025

Prodrug Florfenicol Amine Targets Resistant Mycobacterium abscessus

October 30, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Sperm MicroRNAs: Crucial Mediators of Paternal Exercise Capacity Transmission

    1291 shares
    Share 516 Tweet 322
  • Stinkbug Leg Organ Hosts Symbiotic Fungi That Protect Eggs from Parasitic Wasps

    312 shares
    Share 125 Tweet 78
  • ESMO 2025: mRNA COVID Vaccines Enhance Efficacy of Cancer Immunotherapy

    201 shares
    Share 80 Tweet 50
  • New Study Suggests ALS and MS May Stem from Common Environmental Factor

    136 shares
    Share 54 Tweet 34

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Moffitt Research Reveals Complementary Approaches to Combat Resistance to KRAS G12C Inhibitors in Lung Cancer

Experts Convene at National Summit to Unveil Groundbreaking Strategies for Reducing Firearm-Related Harms

PRRFCT Match: Virtual Support for Young Children

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 67 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.