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{{Short description|Genus of annelid worms}} {{for|methane ice worms|Hesiocaeca methanicola}} {{for|US military project|Project Iceworm}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Mesenchytraeus solifugus anterior.png | image_caption = ''[[Mesenchytraeus solifugus]]'' | taxon = Mesenchytraeus | authority = [[Gustav Eisen|Eisen]], 1878<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/~mjwetzel/EnchytraeidaeNA.html |title=The aphanoneuran and clitellate Annelida occurring in the United States and Canada: families Enchytraeidae and Propappidae |author1=Kathryn A. Coates |author2=Jan M. Locke |author3=Brenda M. Healy |author4=Mark J. Wetzel |publisher=[[University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]] |accessdate=January 22, 2010 |date=August 26, 2008}}</ref> | type_species =''[[Mesenchytraeus primaevus]]'' | type_species_authority = [[Gustav Eisen|Eisen]], 1878 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = [[#Species|See text]] }} '''Ice worms''' (also written as '''ice-worms''' or '''iceworms''', or also called '''glacial''' or '''glacier worms''') are [[enchytraeid]] [[annelids]] of the [[genus]] '''''Mesenchytraeus'''''. The majority of the [[species]] in the genus are abundant in gravel beds or the banks of [[river]]ine habitats,<ref name="shain">{{cite book|author=Paula L. Hartzell & Daniel H. Shain|editor =Daniel H. Shain|title =Annelids in Modern Biology|chapter =Glacier Ice Worms|publisher =Wiley-Blackwell|year =2009|page=305|isbn =9780470455197|chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=9HTIa_JMS1UC&pg=PA305}}</ref><ref name="healy">{{cite journal|author=Brenda Healy & Steve Fend |year=2002|title=The occurrence of ''Mesenchytraeus'' (Enchytraeidae: Oligochaeta) in riffle habitats of north-west Subnautica below zero rivers, with description of a new species|journal=Journal of Natural History|volume=36|issue=1|pages=15–23|doi=10.1080/713833842|s2cid=84290342}}</ref> but the best-known members of the genus are found in [[glacier|glacial]] ice. They include the only annelid worms known to spend their entire lives in [[glacier|glacial]] ice,<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1002/1097-4687(200012)246:3<192::AID-JMOR3>3.0.CO;2-B|title=Morphologic characterization of the ice worm ''Mesenchytraeus solifugus''|year=2000|last1=Shain|first1=Daniel H.|last2=Carter|first2=Melissa R.|last3=Murray|first3=Kurt P.|last4=Maleski|first4=Karen A.|last5=Smith|first5=Nancy R.|last6=McBride|first6=Taresha R.|last7=Michalewicz|first7=Lisa A.|last8=Saidel|first8=William M.|journal=Journal of Morphology|volume=246|issue=3|pages=192–7|pmid=11077431 |s2cid=30143253 }}</ref> and some of the few [[metazoan]]s to complete their entire life cycle at conditions below {{convert|0|C|F}}.<ref name="farrell">{{cite journal|author=A.H. Farrell, K.A.Hohenstein, & D.H. Shain|year=2004|title=Molecular adaptation in the ice worm, ''Mesenchytraeus solifugus'': divergence of energetic-associated genes.|journal=Journal of Molecular Evolution|volume=59|issue=5|pages=666–673|doi= 10.1007/s00239-004-2658-z|pmid=15693622|bibcode=2004JMolE..59..666F|s2cid=22139929}}</ref> They were discovered in a wide range of environments, which include level snowfields, steep avalanche cones, crevasse walls, glacial rivers and pools, and hard glacier ice. These organisms are unique in that they can simply move between tightly packed ice crystals. They utilize setae, which are small bristles found on the outside of their bodies, to grip the ice and pull themselves along. [[File:Ice Worm against Fingernail.jpg|thumb|Unknown species of ice worm]] The genus contains 77 [[species]], including the North American glacier ice worm (''[[Mesenchytraeus solifugus]]'') and the Yosemite snow worm (''[[Mesenchytraeus gelidus]]'').<ref name="schmelz">{{cite journal|author=Rüdiger M. Schmelz & Rut Collado|year=2012|title=An updated checklist of currently accepted species of Enchytraeidae (Oligochaeta, Annelida)|journal=VTI Agriculture and Forestry Research |volume=357|pages=67–87|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275099637}}</ref><ref name="schmelz2">{{cite journal|author=Rüdiger M. Schmelz & Rut Collado|year=2015|title=Checklist of taxa of Enchytraeidae (Oligochaeta): an update|journal=Soil Organisms|volume=87|issue=2|pages=149–152|url=http://www.senckenberg.de/files/content/forschung/publikationen/soilorganisms/volume_87_2/7_87-2-08.pdf|access-date=2017-01-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220045625/http://www.senckenberg.de/files/content/forschung/publikationen/soilorganisms/volume_87_2/7_87-2-08.pdf|archive-date=2016-12-20|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="shen">{{cite journal|author=Qi Shen, Jing Chen, & Zhicai Xie|year=2012|title=''Mesenchytraeus monodiverticulus'' sp. nov. (Annelida: Cliterllata: Enchytraeidae) from Changbai Mountain, with a key to ''Mesenchytraeus'' with enlarged chaetae|journal=Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington|volume=125|issue=3|pages=215–227|doi=10.2988/12-08.1|s2cid=84234028}}</ref> Ice worms eat [[snow algae]] and bacteria.<ref name="nichols">{{cite web |title=Ice Worms (''Mesenchytraeus solifugus'') and Their Habitats on North Cascade Glaciers-North Cascade Glacier Climate Project |url=http://www.nichols.edu/departments/glacier/iceworm.htm |website=North Cascade Glacier Climate Project |access-date=17 July 2021 |date=November 6, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209012557/http://www.nichols.edu/departments/glacier/iceworm.htm |archive-date=2009-02-09 }}</ref> The specimens researched by Scott Hotaling, researcher at [[Washington State University]], live at zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) and die if temperatures dip even slightly below that.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Greenfieldboyce |first1=Nell |title=It's Summer, And That Means The Mysterious Return Of Glacier Ice Worms |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/07/13/1011376403/its-summer-and-that-means-the-mysterious-return-of-glacier-ice-worms |access-date=17 July 2021 |work=NPR |date=July 13, 2021}}</ref> == History == {{Unreferenced section|date=December 2023}} In North America, the first ice worms [[species]] were discovered in 1887 in [[Alaska]], on the [[Muir Glacier]]. These glacier ice worms can be found on glaciers in Alaska, [[Washington (state)|Washington]], [[Oregon]] and [[British Columbia]]. They have not been found in other glaciated regions of the world.{{cn|date=December 2023}} == Description == {{Unreferenced section|date=December 2023}} The specific name ''solifugus'' for the North American species, ''[[Mesenchytraeus solifugus]]'', is Latin for "sun-avoiding," as ice worms retreat underneath the ice before dawn. [[Enzymes]] in ice worms have very low optimal temperatures, and can be denatured at even a few degrees above {{convert|0|C|F}}. When ice worms are exposed to temperatures as modest as {{convert|5|C|F}}, their membrane structures disassociate and fall apart (i.e., "melt") causing the worm itself to "liquefy." Ice worms are several centimeters long, and can be black, blue, or white. They come to the surface of the glaciers in the evening and morning. On [[Suiattle Glacier]] in the [[North Cascades]], population counts indicated over 7 billion ice worms.{{cn|date=December 2023}} It is not known how ice worms tunnel through the ice. Some scientists believe they travel through microscopic fissures in ice sheets, while others believe they secrete some chemical which can melt ice by lowering its freezing point, like an [[antifreeze]]. They feed on [[snow algae]].<ref name="nichols"/> == Species == The genus contains 77 [[species]]. They are the following:<ref name="schmelz"/><ref name="schmelz2"/><ref name="shen2012">{{cite journal|author=Qi Shen, Jing Chen, & Zhicai Xie|year=2012|title=''Mesenchytraeus monodiverticulus'' sp. nov. (Annelida: Clitellata: Enchytraeidae) from Changbai Mountain, with a key to ''Mesenchytraeus'' with enlarged chaetae|journal=Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington |volume=125|issue=3|pages=215–227|doi=10.2988/12-08.1|s2cid=84234028}}</ref> {{div col|colwidth=30em}} *''[[Mesenchytraeus affinis]]'' Michaelsen, 1901 *''[[Mesenchytraeus altus]]'' Welch, 1917 *''[[Mesenchytraeus americanus]]'' Bell, 1942 *''[[Mesenchytraeus anisodiverticulus]]'' Shen, Chen & Xie, 2012 *''[[Mesenchytraeus antaeus]]'' Rota & Brinkhurst, 2000 *''[[Mesenchytraeus arcticus]]'' Bell, 1962 *''[[Mesenchytraeus argentatus]]'' Nurminen, 1973b *''[[Mesenchytraeus armatus]]'' (Levinsen, 1884) :*''[[Mesenchytraeus armatus armatus]]'' (Levinsen, 1884) :*''[[Mesenchytraeus armatus kananaskis]]'' Dash, 1970 *''[[Mesenchytraeus asiaticus]]'' Eisen, 1904 *''[[Mesenchytraeus atriaphorus]]'' Altman, 1936 *''[[Mesenchytraeus beringensis]]'' Eisen, 1904 *''[[Mesenchytraeus beumeri]]'' (Michaelsen, 1886b) *''[[Mesenchytraeus bungei]]'' Michaelsen, 1901 *''[[Mesenchytraeus cejkai]]'' Cernosvitov, 1937d *''[[Mesenchytraeus celticus]]'' Southern, 1909 *''[[Mesenchytraeus chaunus]]'' Piper, MacLean & Christensen, 1982 *''[[Mesenchytraeus chromophorus]]'' Altman, 1936 *''[[Mesenchytraeus crenobius]]'' Timm, 1994 *''[[Mesenchytraeus diplobulbosus]]'' Bell, 1949 *''[[Mesenchytraeus diverticulatus]]'' Piper, MacLean & Christensen, 1982 *''[[Mesenchytraeus eastwoodi]]'' Eisen, 1904 *''[[Mesenchytraeus eltoni]]'' Stephenson, 1925 *''[[Mesenchytraeus falciformis]]'' Eisen, 1878 *''[[Mesenchytraeus flavidus]]'' Michaelsen, 1887 *''[[Mesenchytraeus flavus]]'' (Levinsen, 1884) *''[[Mesenchytraeus fontinalis]]'' Eisen, 1904 :*''[[Mesenchytraeus fontinalis fontinalis]]'' Eisen, 1904 :*''[[Mesenchytraeus fontinalis gracilis]]'' Eisen, 1904 *''[[Mesenchytraeus franciscanus]]'' Eisen, 1904 *''[[Mesenchytraeus fuscus]]'' Eisen, 1904 :*''[[Mesenchytraeus fuscus fuscus]]'' Eisen, 1904 :*''[[Mesenchytraeus fuscus inermis]]'' Eisen, 1904 *''[[Mesenchytraeus gaudens]]'' Cognetti, 1903a *''[[Mesenchytraeus gelidus]]'' Welch, 1916 *''[[Mesenchytraeus gigachaetus]]'' Xie, 2012 *''[[Mesenchytraeus glandulosus]]'' (Levinsen, 1884) *''[[Mesenchytraeus grandis]]'' Eisen, 1904 *''[[Mesenchytraeus grebnitzkyi]]'' Michaelsen, 1901 *''[[Mesenchytraeus groenlandicus]]'' Nielsen & Christensen, 1959 *''[[Mesenchytraeus hamiltoni]]'' Healy, 1996b *''[[Mesenchytraeus harrimani]]'' Eisen, 1904 *''[[Mesenchytraeus hydrius]]'' Welch, 1919a *''[[Mesenchytraeus johanseni]]'' Welch, 1919b *''[[Mesenchytraeus kincaidi]]'' Eisen, 1904 *''[[Mesenchytraeus kontrimavichusi]]'' Piper, MacLean & Christensen, 1982 *''[[Mesenchytraeus konyamensis]]'' Michaelsen, 1916 *''[[Mesenchytraeus kuehnelti]]'' Dózsa-Farkas, 1991a *''[[Mesenchytraeus kuril]]'' Healy & Timm, 2000 *''[[Mesenchytraeus lusitanicus]]'' Collado, Martínez-Ansemil, and Giani, 1993 *''[[Mesenchytraeus macnabi]]'' Bell, 1942 *''[[Mesenchytraeus maculatus]]'' Eisen, 1904 *''[[Mesenchytraeus magnus]]'' Altman, 1936 *''[[Mesenchytraeus melanocephalus]]'' Christensen & Dózsa-Farkas, 1999 *''[[Mesenchytraeus minimus]]'' Altman, 1936 *''[[Mesenchytraeus mirabilis]]'' Eisen, 1878 *''[[Mesenchytraeus monochaetus]]'' Bretscher, 1900 *''[[Mesenchytraeus monodiverticulus]]'' Shen, Chen & Xie, 2012 *''[[Mesenchytraeus monothecatus]]'' Bell, 1945 *''[[Mesenchytraeus multispinus]]'' (Grube, 1851) *''[[Mesenchytraeus nanus]]'' Eisen, 1904 *''[[Mesenchytraeus obscurus]]'' Eisen, 1904 *''[[Mesenchytraeus ogloblini]]'' Černosvitov, 1928b *''[[Mesenchytraeus orcae]]'' Eisen, 1904 *''[[Mesenchytraeus pedatus]]'' Eisen, 1904 *''[[Mesenchytraeus pelicensis]]'' Issel, 1905c *''[[Mesenchytraeus penicillus]]'' Eisen, 1904 *''[[Mesenchytraeus primaevus]]'' Eisen, 1878 *''[[Mesenchytraeus rhithralis]]'' Healy & Fend, 2002 *''[[Mesenchytraeus sanguineus]]'' Nielsen & Christensen, 1959 *''[[Mesenchytraeus setchelli]]'' Eisen, 1904 *''[[Mesenchytraeus solifugus]]'' (Emery, 1898) :*''[[Mesenchytraeus solifugus solifugus]]'' (Emery, 1898) :*''[[Mesenchytraeus solifugus rainierensis]]'' Welch, 1916 *''[[Mesenchytraeus straminicolus]]'' Rota, 1995 *''[[Mesenchytraeus sveni]]'' Christensen & Dózsa-Farkas, 1999 *''[[Mesenchytraeus svetae]]'' Piper, MacLean & Christensen, 1982 *''[[Mesenchytraeus tetrapodus]]'' Timm, 1978 *''[[Mesenchytraeus torbeni]]'' Christensen & Dózsa-Farkas, 1999 *''[[Mesenchytraeus tundrus]]'' Piper, MacLean & Christensen, 1982 *''[[Mesenchytraeus unalaskae]]'' Eisen, 1904 *''[[Mesenchytraeus variabilis]]'' Cejka, 1914 *''[[Mesenchytraeus vegae]]'' Eisen, 1904 *''[[Mesenchytraeus viivi]]'' Timm, 1978 *''[[Mesenchytraeus vshivkovae]]'' Timm, 1994 {{div col end}} ''Mesenchytraeus franzi'' is a [[junior synonym]] of ''[[Cognettia clarae]]''.<ref name="schmelz"/> ''Mesenchytraeus megachaetae'' Shen, Chen & Xie, 2011 has been renamed ''Mesenchytraeus gigachaetus'' Xie, 2012 due to the previous name being preoccupied by ''Mesenchytraeus megachaetae'' Bretscher, 1901, a junior synonym of ''[[Mesenchytraeus armatus]].''<ref name="schmelz2"/><ref name="xie2012">{{cite journal|author=Zhicai Xie|year=2012|title=''Mesenchytraeus gigachaetus'', new name, a replacement name for ''Mesenchytraeus megachaetus'' Shen et al., 2011|journal=Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington|volume=125|issue=1|pages=18|url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/9d37b445c48281a28a8330a57d4f2497/1?pq-origsite=gscholar|doi=10.2988/11-41.1|s2cid=86642220|url-access=subscription}}</ref> == References == {{refs}} == External links == * [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002818691_iceworms21m.html Seattle Times Article on Iceworms] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228235101/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002818691_iceworms21m.html |date=2008-02-28 }} {{Taxonbar|from=Q656119}} [[Category:Enchytraeidae]]
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