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Published online 11 December 2007 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2007.371

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Marine worms chow down on cow bones

Weird whale-bone eaters can survive on more than just whale.

When researchers first discovered a strange new genus of marine worms feasting on whale skeletons on the sea floor1, some thought that the creatures had a very specialized habitat and could survive only on the lipid-rich bones of whales. But now it seems that several species of the Osedax worm can dine on cow carcasses as well.

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