page_title: Riftia pachyptila
hierarchical_section_title: Riftia pachyptila
caption_attribution_description: 330-PSA-139-64 (USN 1097019): The Navy research submarine, Alvin was operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Research Institution for the Office of Naval Research. The craft is 29 feet long and weighs 11 tons. It has a molded fire-glass hull, which houses 8,400 pound sphere, made of one-inch thick steel, in which the two men crew will ride. The sphere can be released in an emergency and will float to the surface. Alvin is expected to have continuous speed of four knots, six knots in short bursts and a maximum range of 25 miles. Alvin is named for Allyn C. Vine, a Woods Hole Oceanographic Research doctor, who was greatly responsible for the submarine’s creation. Photograph released June 24, 1964. (2015/11/03).
context_page_description: Riftia pachyptila, commonly known as the giant tube worm, is a marine invertebrate in the phylum Annelida related to tube worms commonly found in the intertidal and pelagic zones. R. pachyptila lives on the floor of the Pacific Ocean near hydrothermal vents, and can tolerate extremely high hydrogen sulfide levels. These worms can reach a length of 3 m, and their tubular bodies have a diameter of 4 cm. Ambient temperature in their natural environment ranges from 2 to 30°C.
  Its common name "giant tube worm" is, however, also applied to the largest living species of shipworm, Kuphus polythalamia, which despite the name "worm", is a bivalve mollusc rather than an annelid.
context_section_description: Riftia pachyptila, commonly known as the giant tube worm, is a  marine invertebrate in the phylum Annelida (formerly `grouped in phylum Pogonophora and Vestimentifera) related to tube worms commonly found in the intertidal and pelagic zones. R. pachyptila lives on the floor of the Pacific Ocean near hydrothermal vents, and can tolerate extremely high hydrogen sulfide levels. These worms can reach a length of 3 m (9 ft 10 in), and their tubular bodies have a diameter of 4 cm (1.6 in). Ambient temperature in their natural environment ranges from 2 to 30°C.
  Its common name "giant tube worm" is, however, also applied to the largest living species of shipworm, Kuphus polythalamia, which despite the name "worm", is a bivalve mollusc rather than an annelid.
caption: DSV Alvin, the Navy research submarine
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