Giant Tube Worms
Picture by Lealand Johnson
Giant tube worms live in hydrothermal vents in the deep Pacific Ocean (about 5000 feet down). Scientists didn't even know they existed until recently. They grow about 33 inches every year, and do not depend on sunlight for their source of energy. The worms live on a gas from the hydrothermal vents called H2S. This gas is also known as hydrogen sulfide. (Hydrogen sulfide, hydrothermal vents. Get it?) The worms have a bacteria in them that makes this gas nutritious. The temperatures the bacteria can withstand are of the hottest living things on Earth. Hydrothermal vents are nicknamed "black smokers" because the material that they eject is so dark. Although giant tube worms don't have a mouth or insides, but they can still grow to be up to eight feet tall.
Source: Giant Tube Worms