Feather Duster Worm

Feather Duster Worms live in groups, making them social.  Their head looks like an old-fashioned feather duster that you might use to sweep dust off of your furniture.  Feather-Dusters are tiny.  If you look closely enough, you’ll see that each worm lives in its own tube.  The tube is about the size of a soda straw and barely ¼ of an inch across.  The mouth of the Feather-Duster is in the center of a circle of antennae called radioles.  The radioles form a circle barely one inch across.  The worm uses its radioles to catch food and to breathe.  The ocean currents push water through the radioles, which work like a net to trap tiny plants and animals called plankton that float in the water.  The radioles work like gills, too, exchanging carbon dioxide for oxygen in the water, allowing the Feather-Duster Worm to breathe.  

If you are deep-sea diving, it is important to be careful around the Feather-Dusters because they are very delicate.  If they are disturbed, they could be damaged or destroyed and they might die.