Wired has a lovely story about a charismatic creature that has no mouth, lives inside dead whale bones and is part of a very complicated family:
Since the discovery by Vrijenhoek and other MBARI researchers of Osedax, other species have been found in whalebones off the coast of Sweden and Japan. (Some of their names hint at the genus’ weirdness: Osedax mucofloris roughly translates to “bone-eater snot-flower,” in honor of its appearance.) A total of five species have now been named, enough for a comparison of their genetic characteristics to provide insight into their evolutionary history.
In a study published Tuesday in BMC Biology, Vrijenhoek looked for similarities and differences in five genes across the species. In much the same way that comparing genes from humans and Neanderthals would hint at the existence of other members of the Homo genus, the analysis suggested at least 12 more as-yet-unidentified lineages of Osedax. The worms might still be out there, though some may have gone extinct.
In this story, also, a whale is compared to falling snow.
Because marine biologists are more into dada than anyone previously suspected.