{{Short description|Family of annelid worms}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}} {{more citations needed|date=December 2013}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Palm worms.jpg | image_caption =''[[Paralvinella sulfincola]]'' | taxon = Alvinellidae | authority = Desbruyères & Laubier, 1986 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = ''[[Alvinella]]''<br /> ''[[Paralvinella]]'' }}
The '''Alvinellidae''' are a family of small, deep-sea [[polychaete]] [[worm]]s endemic to [[hydrothermal vent]]s in the [[Pacific Ocean]]. Belonging to the order [[Terebellida]], the family contains two genera, ''[[Alvinella]]'' and ''[[Paralvinella]]''; the former genus contains two valid species and the latter eight. Members of the family are termed '''alvinellids'''.
The family was first described in 1979 after discoveries made off the [[Galápagos Islands]] by the crew of the [[Deep Submergence Vehicle|DSV]] ''[[DSV Alvin|Alvin]]''. The ship subsequently lent its name to the family and genera within it.
The worms build mucus tubes and extend red feathery gills. Members of the Alvinellidae are noted for their exceptional heat tolerance: one species, ''[[Alvinella pompejana]]'', is thought to be the most heat-tolerant complex organism on Earth. [[Mitochondria]] start to break down at temperatures of {{convert|122|-|131|F|C}}, apparently providing an upper limit for [[eukaryote]]s. Under laboratory conditions, in a pressurized aquarium with a heat gradient, worms of the species ''Paralvinella sulfincola'', chose water heated to {{convert|122|°F|°C|abbr=on}} and made brief forays into water as hot as {{convert|131|°F|°C|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fox |first1=Maggie |title=Some worms like it really, really hot |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna12304526 |work=NBC News |date=13 April 2006 }}</ref> Unlike other ([[chemosynthesis|chemosynthetic]]) vent-dwelling worms, alvinellid worms possess a digestive tract. However, they do rely on an [[symbiosis|episymbiotic]] relationship with [[thermophile|thermophilic]] [[bacteria]]; hair-like growths of the bacteria living on the worm's back are thought to offer thermal protection to the worm.
== Family Alvinellidae ==
*Genus ''[[Alvinella]]'' ** Species ''[[Alvinella caudata]]'' ** Species ''[[Alvinella pompejana]]'' *Genus ''[[Paralvinella]]'' ** Species ''Paralvinella bactericola'' ** Species ''Paralvinella fijiensis'' ** Species ''Paralvinella grasslei'' ** Species ''Paralvinella hessleri'' ** Species ''Paralvinella palmiformis'' ** Species ''Paralvinella pandorae'' ** Species ''[[Paralvinella sulfincola]]'' ** Species ''Paralvinella unidentata''
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * {{cite journal |last1=Jacobs |first1=Phie |title=Deep-sea worms fight poison with poison to survive in hydrothermal vents |journal=Science |date=26 August 2025 |doi=10.1126/science.zuph6d4 }} * {{cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Hao |last2=Cao |first2=Lei |last3=Zhang |first3=Huan |last4=Zhong |first4=Zhaoshan |last5=Zhou |first5=Li |last6=Lian |first6=Chao |last7=Wang |first7=Xiaocheng |last8=Chen |first8=Hao |last9=Wang |first9=Minxiao |last10=Zhang |first10=Xin |last11=Li |first11=Chaolun |title=A deep-sea hydrothermal vent worm detoxifies arsenic and sulfur by intracellular biomineralization of orpiment (As2S3) |journal=PLOS Biology |date=26 August 2025 |volume=23 |issue=8 |article-number=e3003291 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003291 |pmid=40857221 |doi-access=free |pmc=12380324 }} * {{cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Hao |last2=Zhang |first2=Huan |last3=Wang |first3=Minxiao |last4=Chen |first4=Hao |last5=Lian |first5=Chao |last6=Li |first6=Chaolun |title=The complete mitochondrial genome of Paralvinella hessleri: an endemic species of deep-sea hydrothermal vent |journal=Mitochondrial DNA Part B |date=2 January 2019 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=832–833 |doi=10.1080/23802359.2019.1567289 |doi-access=free }} * {{cite news |last1=Milius |first1=Susan |title=Into Hot Water: Lab test shows that worms seek heat |url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/hot-water-lab-test-shows-worms-seek-heat |work=Science News |date=12 April 2006 }}
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[[Category:Terebellida]] [[Category:Animals living on hydrothermal vents]]