As mentioned in a previous blog post, I grew up learning a ton about different sea creatures. Whether through reading books/magazines, watching tv shows/documentaries, or just researching them on my own, I was always hungry for new knowledge on fascinating sea creatures. In this blog post, I’ve decided to combine two smaller entries into one. That being said, let me introduce today’s subjects: The Cookie Cutter Shark and the Giant Tube Worm!

First, we will focus on the cookie cutter shark (also know as the cigar shark due to its cigar-like shape). Now, I know you are probably thinking, “What’s up with that name?”. Well, the name is actually very fitting because these tiny guys love to take bites out of just about anything and the bite marks they leave behind are much like using a cookie cutter. Instead of leaving holes in a sheet of dough, they leave holes in a fish’s body. This means that they are technically a parasite.

I’m sure this causes quite an annoyance to the fish. However, these creatures aren’t just an annoyance to fish; They’re also an annoying to the US Navy of all things. They are known for taking down US Navy submarines with their incredible bite strength! They are able to puncture these incredible machines in softer spots like wiring and such and this usually causes the subs to return to a base for maintenance. Here are a couple rapid fire fun facts: First, these sharks actually glow in the dark, as they are deep sea predators (deep sea creatures commonly use bioluminescence for communication, hunting, and many other things). Next, there was one recorded incident where a human was bitten by a cookie cutter shark but this was under extreme circumstances so no need to worry. Finally, unlike other sharks, the cookie cutter shark loses all of its teeth at once. Furthermore, once it is ready to shed teeth, the shark will actually swallow the entire bottom row of teeth. It is believed that this provides calcium to their bodies.

Moving on from the mischievous cookie cutter shark, we will examine the giant tube worm. Much like the shark, they live in the deep depths of the ocean; However, they live even deeper down. They live around hydrothermal vents, which are basically mini volcanoes that spew out hot water and minerals on the sea floor. So they basically live in scorching water at the pitch-black bottom of the ocean.

They also endure great pressures so these guys definitely like in some harsh conditions! They endure these conditions for a good reason: energy. They get there energy through chemosynthesis which basically means they give the toxic chemicals being shot out by the hydrothermal vent to symbiotic bacteria which then get converted to sugars. It’s quite the interesting process and when discovered, opened up new considerations about where life could form. The giant tube worm’s eating habits are not the only unconventional way of living they possess: Their breathing is also abnormal. They breath through gills like most other marine life, however, the gills they use are retractable! The red plume that you see contains their gills and can be retracted when in harms way (like if a hungry crab were to waltz by).

I hope you enjoyed this double entry and I will see you next week for my second favorite sea creature!