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Ice worms are annelids of the genus ''Mesenchytraeus''. They are the only annelid worms known to spend their entire lives in glacial ice. They include ''M. solifugus'', ''M. harrimani'', ''M. kuril'', ''M. maculatus'' and ''M. obscurus''. 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, Oregon and British Columbia. They have not been found in other glaciated regions of the world. The specific name ''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 . When ice worms are exposed to temperatures as high as , 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. 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. == In popular culture == *Scottish-born Canadian poet of the Yukon Robert W. Service wrote the poem "The Ballad of the Ice-worm Cocktail", in which a fake ice worm made of spaghetti is the subject of a bar bet. This may have contributed to the impression that ice worms are mythical creatures. *An old Canadian song "When the Iceworms Nest Again" jokes about how cold it is in northern Canada. (Titles vary, using "iceworms," "ice worms" or "ice worm.") Another song of the same name is by the Canadian group Jenny Omnichord; it is highly factually accurate. *Organisms similar to ice worms have appeared in science fiction in the short story "Glacial" by Alastair Reynolds and the novel ''Fallen Dragon'' by Peter F. Hamilton. *From the ''Star Trek: Enterprise'' TV series, "Ice-bores" were worms that lived in the ice-packs of Andoria. *In the annual February Ice Worm Festival of Cordova, Alaska, a long imitation ice worm is paraded through the streets like a Chinese new year dragon dance. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「ice worm」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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