Ice worms were first discovered in the Gulf of Mexico by Charles Fisher, Penn State Associate Professor of Biology. Thousands of these polychaete worms were found on mounds of methane hydrate. These mounds that measured up to six feet in diameter form under conditions of low temperature and high pressure. The worms can be one to two inches long and are a pinkish color.
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This picture shows the ice worms living on the methane hydrate mounds. These mounds are found at the bottom of the ocean where methane gas has seeped from beneath the ocean floor and has mixed with the water to form these mounds. the worms live both on the surface of the mounds and they also burrow inside of them. |
