relationship with an endosymbiotic bacteria. The cells in the epidermis of the Osedax root region are responsible for the secretion of digestive enzymes. The epidermis also has an expanded microvillus border which causes the Osedax worm to have a greater surface area. Osedax roots are covered by a mucus sheath that helps protect the worm's trunk. Some studies support the theory that this sheath plays a role in dissolving the bone. This sheath could also play an important role in reducing the damage to Osedax skin by absorbing harmful acid. Another potential function of the mucus sheath is that it could inhibit the breakdown of the worm's bone matrix. This is significant because the bone matrix is integral in maintaining the worm's position while in direct contact with a bone. Reproduction Female Osedax worms have been observed spawning both in the wild and in laboratory aquaria (Rouse et al., 2009). Osedax rubiplumus can spawn hundreds of oocytes at a time. They are already fertilized when they're released from the female worm. The worms' endosymbionts, species of bacteria in the order Oceanospirillales, were not observed in the spawned oocytes, which suggests that they are acquired after the worms settle on the bones. In the adult, the bacteria are localised in the root-like structures that grow into the whale bone. This worm appears to be highly fecund and reproduces continuously. This may help explain why Osedax is such a diverse genus, despite the rarity of whale falls in the ocean. Male Osedax are microscopic dwarfs that live as "harems" inside the lumen of the gelatinous tube that surrounds each female. An individual female can house hundreds of these males in her tube. Following its discovery in 2002 by researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, the genus was announced in Science in 2004. In late 2005, an experiment by Swedish marine biologists resulted in the discovery of a species of the worm in the North Sea off the west coast of Sweden. In the experiment, a minke whale carcass that had been washed ashore had been sunk to a depth of and monitored for several months. Biologists were surprised to find that, unlike the previous discoveries, the new species, colloquially known as "bone-eating snot flower" after its scientific name (Osedax mucofloris), lived in relatively shallow waters. In November 2009, researchers reported finding as many as 15 species of boneworms living in