The Very Merry Christmas Tree Worm!
Updated: Dec 30, 2020
If you lived underwater - and I'm sure that day isn't far away - and you wanted a Christmas tree right about now, and you couldn't find a way to airlift one to you - you could ask for a underwater substitute... something that is just as pretty, festive, gorgeous, and beautiful.
Like a Christmas Tree Worm... below!
No, you're not dreaming. You're not in fantasy land. It isn't a plastic toy. This isn't a bottle brush either. It isn't a feather duster to clean out hard-to-reach places. This beautiful, blue, feathery, spiral tube-like creature is a worm... one of the prettier ones we have ever seen.
So say hello to a tube-building Christmas Tree Worm that grows in many different colors.
Now pray it grows to ten or twelve-feet so we can use it AS a Christmas tree.
Unfortunately, that is not going to happen anytime soon.
Currently they grow to be only around an inch. The real tall ones are an inch and half. If they live for 10 or 20 years, they could be bigger, but not much - ten or twelve inches in height.
These lovely worms are found throughout the tropical oceans in the world. Each worm has two fir-like plumes (the plumes occur in pairs). They live ON the heads of corals. You could say, the worms embed themselves on top of the corals and create a tube around itself that functions as a protective cover. Two-thirds of its body is inside this calcium-carbonate tube.
It's smart enough not to build its hideout too quick. No, it waits for the right time. So, it lives on the coral head for a while and then creates its tube as the coral is on a growth spurt large enough to cover it, therefore giving it, and its home, extra protection. It persuades the coral to build around it (and not under it) and so it gets a two-layered bunker to help it hideout.
When it faces danger, it withdraws into its tube. The opening, protected by spines, shuts off.
Cool.
These worms - although they are worms - do not move away from their burrows in the corals. I suppose once they find the corals they like, they stay sedentary, rooted to the spot.
If you wanted to see them grow out of their coral burrows, check here. It's a short video (no more than a minute) showing these little multi-colored worms peep out.
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