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Limpets and Scale Worms

Organisms colonize the outer walls of the 16 m-tall hydrothermal edifice called El Guapo. The community structure changes with height above seafloor. Here, limpets, red scale worms and blue protists (ciliates) colonize the outer sulfide walls of the structure. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/WHOI, V18.

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Beautiful Tubeworms

A lush community of vibrant red tube worms grows on a 1 m tall black smoker chimney in the ASHES hydrothermal field. The tube worms, which are hosted in white housings about the diameter of your small finger, are intergrown with brown palm worms.Credit: NSF-OOI/UW/CSSF; Dive R1835; V15.

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Scaleworms on Mushroom vent

Two scaleworms roam among the Palm worms and limpets at Mushroom, one of the hydrothermal vents at ASHES vent field on Axial Seamount. One worm shows its usual pinkish red color (at left), while the other is coated with a fur-like layer of filamentous bacteria. This image was taken with the RCA HD Video Camera during its test on the seafloor during VISIONS 13. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI, V14

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