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Evolutionary Innovation: A Bone-Eating Marine Symbiosis, Shana K. Goffredi, Victoria J. Orphan, Greg W. Rouse, Linda Jahnke, Tsegeria Embaye, Kendra Turk, Ray Lee, Robert C. Vrijenhoek

Shana Goffredi

Symbiotic associations between microbes and invertebrates have resulted in some of the most unusual physiological and morphological adaptations that have evolved in the animal world. We document a new symbiosis between marine polychaetes of the genus Osedax and members of the bacterial group Oceanospirillales, known for heterotrophic degradation of complex organic compounds. These organisms were discovered living on the carcass of a grey whale at 2891 m depth in Monterey Canyon, off the coast of California. The mouthless and gutless worms are unique in their morphological specializations used to obtain nutrition from decomposing mammalian bones. Adult worms possess elaborate posterior …