''Lamellibrachia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

tube worm A tubeworm is any worm-like sessile invertebrate that anchors its tail to an underwater surface and secretes around its body a mineral tube, into which it can withdraw its entire body. Tubeworms are found among the following taxa: * Annelida, the ...

s related to the giant tube worm, ''

Riftia pachyptila ''Riftia pachyptila'', commonly known as the giant tube worm and less commonly known as the Giant beardworm, is a marine invertebrate in the phylum Annelida (formerly grouped in phylum Pogonophora and Vestimentifera) related to tube worms ...

''. They live at deep-sea

cold seep A cold seep (sometimes called a cold vent) is an area of the ocean floor where hydrogen sulfide, methane and other hydrocarbon-rich fluid seepage occurs, often in the form of a brine pool. ''Cold'' does not mean that the temperature of the see ...

s where

hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ...

s (oil and methane) leak out of the seafloor, and are entirely reliant on internal, sulfide-oxidizing

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometr ...

l symbionts for their nutrition. The symbionts, gammaproteobacteria, require sulfide and inorganic carbon (carbon dioxide). The tube worms extract dissolved oxygen and hydrogen sulfide from the sea water with the crown of plumes. Species living near seeps can also obtain sulfide through their "roots", posterior extensions of their body and tube. Several sorts of

hemoglobin Hemoglobin (haemoglobin BrE) (from the Greek word αἷμα, ''haîma'' 'blood' + Latin ''globus'' 'ball, sphere' + ''-in'') (), abbreviated Hb or Hgb, is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein present in red blood cells (erythrocyt ...

are present in the blood and coelomic fluid to bind to the different components and transport them to the symbionts. ''L. luymesi'' provides the bacteria with hydrogen sulfide and

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as ...

by taking them up from the environment and binding them to a specialized

molecule. Unlike the tube worms that live at hydrothermal vents, ''L. luymesi'' uses a posterior extension of its body called the root to take up hydrogen sulfide from the seep sediments. ''L. luymesi'' may also help fuel the generation of sulfide by excreting

sulfate The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salts of sulfuric acid and many ...

through its root into the sediments below the aggregations. The most well-known seeps where ''L. luymesi'' lives are in the northern

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

from 500 to 800 m depth. This tube worm can reach lengths over 3 m (10 ft), and grows very slowly, with individuals living to be over 250 years old. It forms a

biodiverse Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...

habitat by creating large aggregations of hundreds to thousands of individuals. Living in these aggregations are over 100 different species of animals, many of which are found only at these depths. While most species of

vestimentiferan Siboglinidae is a family of polychaete annelid worms whose members made up the former phyla Pogonophora and Vestimentifera (the giant tube worms). The family is composed of about 100 species of vermiform creatures which live in thin tubes buried ...

tubeworms live in deep waters below the photic zone, ''L. satsuma'' was discovered in

Kagoshima Bay also known as Kinkō Bay, is a deep inlet of the East China Sea on the coast of Japan.''Merriam Webster's Geographical Dictionary, Third Edition'', p. 562. Kagoshima Bay is on the south coast of the island of Kyūshū. The port city of Kag ...

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

at a depth of only 82 m, the shallowest depth record for a vestimentiferan.

Species

The following species are included in this genus: * ''

Lamellibrachia anaximandri ''Lamellibrachia'' is a genus of tube worms related to the giant tube worm, ''Riftia pachyptila''. They live at deep-sea cold seeps where hydrocarbons (oil and methane) leak out of the seafloor, and are entirely reliant on internal, sulfide-oxi ...

Southward South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

Andersen Andersen () is a Danish-Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Anders" (itself derived from the Greek name " Ανδρέας/Andreas", cf. English Andrew). It is the fifth most common surname in Denmark, shared by about 3.2% of the population. ...

& Hourdez, 2011 * ''

Lamellibrachia barhami ''Lamellibrachia barhami'' is a large pogonophore. Description Its tentacular crown is formed of several, fused, horseshoe-shaped tentacle lamellae. The second segment has two body folds, near which open the genital ducts. The trunk, which com ...

'' Webb, 1969 * ''

Lamellibrachia columna ''Lamellibrachia columna'' is a vestimentiferan tube worm from the South Pacific Ocean that has been shown to be very closely related genetically to ''Lamellibrachia satsuma ''Lamellibrachia satsuma'' (also known as Satsuma tubeworm or Satsu ...

'' Southward, 1991 * ''

Lamellibrachia donwalshi ''Lamellibrachia'' is a genus of tube worms related to the giant tube worm, ''Riftia pachyptila''. They live at deep-sea cold seeps where hydrocarbons (oil and methane) leak out of the seafloor, and are entirely reliant on internal, sulfide-oxi ...

'' McCowin & Rouse, 2018 * ''

Lamellibrachia juni ''Lamellibrachia'' is a genus of tube worms related to the giant tube worm, ''Riftia pachyptila''. They live at deep-sea cold seeps where hydrocarbons (oil and methane) leak out of the seafloor, and are entirely reliant on internal, sulfide-oxi ...

'' Miura & Kojima, 2006 * ''

Lamellibrachia luymesi ''Lamellibrachia luymesi'' is a species of tube worms in the family Siboglinidae. It lives at deep-sea cold seeps where hydrocarbons (oil and methane) are leaking out of the seafloor. It is entirely reliant on internal, sulfide-oxidizing bacter ...

'' van der Land & Nørrevang, 1975 * ''

Lamellibrachia satsuma ''Lamellibrachia satsuma'' (also known as Satsuma tubeworm or Satsumahaorimushi or ) was discovered near a hydrothermal vent in Kagoshima Bay, Kagoshima at the depth of only the shallowest depth record for a vestimentiferan. Its symbiotic s ...

'' Miura, 1997 * '' Lamellibrachia victori'' Mañe-Garzon & Montero, 1985

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1937429 Sabellida Chemosynthetic symbiosis Polychaete genera