PHILIPPINES — Scientists have known about the giant shipworm for centuries, but none have seen a living, breathing specimen … until now. <br /> <br />Giant shipworms aren’t actually worms, but bivalves like clams and mussels. They live in three-foot-long tubular shells planted in muddy, shallow bays. <br /> <br />This unicorn of the mollusk world was recently discovered in the southern part of the Philippines. <br /> <br />A local TV segment about the creatures tipped off a team from Northeastern University, who went to a lagoon in Mindanao’s Sultan Kudarat province and managed to collect five live worms. <br /> <br />Back in the lab, researchers cut off one end of the shell and shook out the slimy, black baseball-sized mass of flesh. <br /> <br />Unlike the common shipworm which feeds on rotting wood, its giant cousin has bacteria in its gills that churn out nutrients from carbon dioxide. <br /> <br />It still has digestive organs despite its unique mode of survival, but they’re tiny from lack of use. <br /> <br />The team’s findings on the creature were compiled in a study and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). <br /> <br />It’s not clear how many of the weird-looking creatures are left in the wild, so the team is keeping the exact location of the shipworm home a secret. <br /> <br />Locals, though, have been harvesting the giant worms for years, eating it as an aphrodisiac, medicine, and just a tasty side dish.
