Bone-eating Worms Show Fossils Formed Fast | The Institute for Creation Research
Bone-eating Worms Show Fossils Formed Fast

Marine biologists made a surprising discovery in 2002 when they found a unique species of worm that devours the bones of whale carcasses on the ocean floor. Ongoing research conducted off the coast of California has uncovered much more about these sea floor worm-based ecosystems, and the discoveries have provided more insight into the fossilization of vertebrate bones.

Using unmanned submersibles equipped with cameras, the researchers found more species of Osedax, the name for worms that can break down bones to the point that specialized snails and crabs can dine on the rest of the material. Together, these species comprise an interconnected and efficient bone-recycling system.

The worms have no mouth or gut, but each has a set of roots that secrete a mucilaginous "home" colonized by symbiotic bacteria. The detailed interactions between the worms and bacteria are not fully understood, but evolutionary biologist Robert Vrijenhoek, who first discovered the Osedax worms and has remained involved in the research, told the San Francisco Chronicle, "The worm's roots are packed with bacteria. We know that the worms derive some of their nutrition by digesting the bacteria."1

What his team found was an unexpectedly rapid scavenging process that occurs via certain worm species that inhabit specific ocean floor depths. And assuming that similar worms were alive when and where large vertebrates were buried in sediments and fossilized, the speed of the degrading action of the worms, snails, and crabs suggests a maximum time limit for any fossilization process.

Fossils have been found with a few Osedax worm burrows in them.2 But considering how rapidly skeletons were completely demolished in these recent experiments, it stands to reason that the process of fossilization must have occurred quickly. Fast, catastrophic sedimentation is an integral part of the global Flood model, and this evidence refutes evolution-friendly claims of slow and gradual fossilization.

In other words, with the worms doing their work so quickly, how could fossils of large vertebrates ever form—let alone those of small vertebrates—unless they formed faster than the worms could devour them?

Since rapidly moving and receding waters during the Flood year were responsible for much of the earth's fossils, it would be a surprise to find vertebrate skeletons that had stayed in one place and been exposed to scavengers long enough to host many Osedax worms. Accordingly, some rare fossils do have pits from worm and other bone-borer action, but it generally looks as though the worms only just got started, if at all.2

The lack of significant Osedax action in vertebrate fossils fits with the idea that the fossils formed quickly, not gradually. And this fits with a Genesis Flood explanation for how so many fossils were formed around the world.

References

  1. Fimrite, P. Bizarre worms that eat whale skeletons discovered. San Francisco Chronicle, January 13, 2011, A-1.
  2. Thomas, B. No Time for Bone-eating Worm to Evolve. ICR News. Posted on icr.org May 13, 2010, accessed January 21, 2011.

Image credit: © 2003 MBARI

* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.

Article posted on February 9, 2011.

The Latest
CREATION.LIVE PODCAST
Struck: Risking It All for the Truth | Creation.Live Podcast:...
In this unique episode, host Trey talks with three key people involved in creating Struck—an upcoming miniseries that shows the special ties between...

NEWS
Giant Ants Buried in Receding Flood Rocks
Evolutionary scientists are baffled by a large ant fossil found in British Columbia, Canada. Known as Titanomyrma, this same ant had been found previously...

CREATION PODCAST
Why Do Animals Hibernate? | The Creation Podcast: Episode 45
The word hibernation is often used in reference to deep sleep, but what is it really? What kinds of creatures hibernate? How does this demonstrate the...

NEWS
Thalattosuchians—Extinct Crocodile Relatives?
The Thalattosuchia are an extinct group of marine crocodylomorphs (a group that includes the crocodiles) that allegedly transitioned from land to water...

NEWS
The Star-Nosed Mole
The star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata) is a fascinating semi-aquatic mammal found in eastern Canada and the United States. Moles (placental mammals)...

NEWS
The Hexagon: An Indication of Order and Design in Nature
In nature, noncoincidental patterns and geometry exist everywhere. But the number six appears to overshadow nature’s mathematical landscape. Whether...

NEWS
Neanderthal Crab Bake
The evolutionary science community said it perfectly in their headlines: “Proof that Neanderthals ate crabs is another 'nail in the coffin'...

CREATION PODCAST
Is There Any Truth to Dragon Legends? | The Creation Podcast:...
Dragons are considered by many to be made-up creatures in fairytales and legends, but our ancestors produced many descriptions and depictions of "dragons,"...

NEWS
Our Sun, Finely Tuned for Life on Earth
Aside from appreciating the splendor of the sun during a beautiful sunrise or sunset, many rarely consider how special, necessary, and finely tuned...

NEWS
March 2023 ICR Wallpaper
"Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; Sing praises on the harp to our God, Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who...