New Cave Worms Thriving On Deadly Caves Discovered

Scientists have uncovered a new species of cave worm. Interestingly, these worms have never seen sunlight, growing and thriving instead inside poisonous sulphur caves. 

The newly discovered worms are blood-red in color. If that is not  interesting enough, the scientists claimed that these worms are growing in a dank, hostile atmosphere no human can survive in.

According to Science Alert, these worms are bonafide extremophiles, which means that they can live well in very extreme conditions, physically and geochemically. Humans will die in these conditions but these worms will thrive. 

The worms have been named Limnodrilus sulphurensis, in light of their survival and growth in hellish, gaseous environment. They were first discovered by biologist David Steinmann. 

When Steinmann was exploring Sulphur Cave in Colorado's Steamboat Springs back in 2007, he came across these weird-looking worms that are very small and as thin as pencil lead. They look somehow transparent, with their blood-red coloring stemming from...you guessed it, their blood.  

Steinman however, was not able to determine that the worms were new species until he conducted more than 1,000 hours of lab work. Steinmann shared his experience to National Geographic, with the discovery and said getting into the cave where these worms were thriving was quite "foreboding." "You have to climb and crawl down a wet muddy slop that's stinky and smells like rotten eggs," he explained. 

He also told National Geographic that the cave was not friendly to humans. "It's belching toxic gases," Steinmann shared. "In the winter, you can see steam coming out. You have to stoop down and squeeze through to get into the first room. Once you're in there, it's totally dark, he added.He also explained that inside, there is sulphuric acid strong enough to burn holes in clothes. 

Still, even though the cave was not easy to navigate, seeing the worms thrive in these conditions is a positive thing for the biologist. "One of the exciting factors about these [cave worms] is that they show life can survive in toxic environments," Steinmann revealed to John Wenzel at The Denver Post. "They prove that life can survive by metabolising hydrogen sulphide, which is toxic to us, and then those things can be eaten by things like worms or other creatures to create a food chain."