VIDEO: Live specimens of the extremely rare giant shipworm have been found (and they're not pretty)
We... can't... look away. Meet the shipworm.
A US science journal has published details of a rare, live giant shipworm that has been discovered in the Philippines.
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The existence of the shipworm had been known about for years but this is the first time a live specimen has been studied.
The creature - which is a bivalve, the same group as clams or mussels - can reach up to 1.55m (5ft) in length and 6cm (2.3in) in diameter.
It spends its entire life encased in a hard shell. The shipworm is submerged head-down in mud, which it feeds on.
The creature is the longest living bivalve known to man; the Telegraph shared this video of scientists removing it from its shell.
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Clip via The Telegraph
