If you had a chance to see any exotic animal in existence, which would you pick? A zombie worm that could eat a whale's skeleton from the inside out. The Yeti crab that thrives in a place that is extremely frigid and warm at the same time. Or A giant squid, the size of a bus, that washed ashore. Do you know what all of these creatures have in common? They all adapted to their environments over time.
Fun fact about the zombie worms, all of the adults are female; the males live inside of the females as larvae and never develop past this stage. The zombie worm has, according to Source 2, “developed a chemical strategy. A zombie worm attaches to a whalebone with unique root-like structures. The skin cells of these structures produce an acid, which dissolves the bone, allowing the worm to extract the nutrients.” The worm has adapted to living at the bottom of the ocean, where there is little to no sunlight, by employing the help of internal bacteria to process the nutrients for consumption, it is like a cow’s symbiotic relationship. On the topic of chemical strategies, the yeti crab also has one.
The yeti crabs live inside of a hypothermal vent that is 7,200 feet below the surface of Antarctica. As stated by Source 4, “It’s very hot and very cold at the same time Water spewing back out of the vents’ chimneys might reach 700°F. A few feet away, water is barely above freezing.” Organisms like the yeti crab consider this to be home with at least 600 crabs per square meter. Their large population is partially due to them adapting to surviving with only the things growing on their backs. Mineral eating bacteria grows on the hair of the backs of the crabs that they scoop up and eat. About 6,200 feet above where you can find a vent is where you can find a giant squid in other parts of the world.
An interesting tidbit of information about the giant squid is that they live almost five years and only mate once. In Source 1, it st...