Animal profile

Bone-eating Worm

PolychaetaSunken vertebrate bones on the deep-sea floor

Field profile

Osedax are small siboglinid polychaetes that colonise the bones of dead whales and other vertebrates on the seabed. Females root into bone with branching structures while males remain microscopic. The genus was first described in 2004 and now contains many named species.

Published field notes

2023-05-24

Bone-eating Worm

Osedax worms drill into whale bone with acid

Female Osedax have no mouth or gut. They grow root-like tissue into sunken bone, secrete acid to dissolve the mineral matrix, and rely on internal symbiotic bacteria to make use of the bone's collagen and lipids.

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