Sunday, February 27, 2011

The Pompeii Worm


The Pompeii worm, an extremophile, lives on the floor of the ocean clustered next to hydrothermal vents. Living at temperatures up to 176°F (80°C), these animals are the most heat-tolerant known to science, and they aren't even unicellular. Because they live in such isolated areas, many extremophiles weren't discovered until the 1970s.  Because they live in such high temperature areas, they are identified as thermophiles.

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