The Squidworm (Teuthidodrilus samae)

The Squidworm (Teuthidodrilus samae) 
 Relatively long, at nearly four inches (nine centimeters), this annelid worm earned its moniker with a head that looks as if it’s covered in tentacles. Its front end bristles with eight arms used for breathing—each as long as the worm’s entire body—and two long, loosely coiled appendages employed for feeding.

As if that weren’t enough hardware, six pairs of feathery sensory organs—the squid worm’s collective “nose”—protrude from the new species’ head. And along the length of its body, the worm has iridescent “paddles” for propulsion.

Beyond its appearance, the squid worm fascinates scientists in part because its odd features suggest the worm may be a transitional form—a species caught in a burst of evolutionary adaptation as it straddles two very different habitats, said study co-author Karen Osborn, an evolutionary biologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Observed between 1.2 and 1.8 miles (2 and 2.9 kilometers) below the ocean surface, Teuthidodrilus samae lives neither on the seafloor nor in the sunny shallows. Instead, the worm inhabits a dark in-between realm, where the limited observations done so far show the worm feeding off plankton and other nutritious detritus in the water. 

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teuthidodrilus
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/11/101124-squid-worm-new-species-science-teuthidodrilus-biology/

Photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/streetgeekchrissy/7433607686/