And God Created: The Green Bomber
David Everson
As God created the world, He, indeed, created some amazing animals. Scientists of the world are still trying to “wrap” their minds around the seemingly infinite variety of creatures and are almost weekly discovering new ones. I would like to look at one of the most recently discovered as well as one of the “most unusual” ones we may have looked at: the group of worms that have been described as the “Green Bombers.”
Living thousands of feet below the ocean surface in dark canyons, this group of worms has been endowed by God with some amazing abilities. This group of worms belongs to the Family Annelid (relatives of the common earthworms and leeches); their bodies are segmented into sections. These new worms show these characteristics. They have been given the genus name of Swima, and the most well-studied of the genus is called Swima bombiviridis. Currently there are seven identified species – all of which are new to the scientific world.
The Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego has made most of the discoveries in the last eight years, since most of these worms were spotted in canyons off the coast of California and Oregon. Others have been found in the oceans off the Philippines. They live in waters at depths of 5,000 to about 11,000 feet down.
The amazing thing about these worms is not the depth at which they live or even the fact that they show bioluminescence (the ability to produce light using chemicals not a heat source in a limited part of their body, much like a firefly). It is not that they are agile swimmers, using comb-like bristles on their bodies to propel them around, moving forward and backward with the same fluid ease of well-adapted water dwelling organisms. The most unusual feature is how the worm uses the structures that give off the light. Near their heads, these worms have eight appendages that have modified gills as little round sacs that, when released from the body, begin to glow! It is presumed that the green bomber takes advantage of this ability when it is being hunted for food by a hungry predator. As it is about to be attacked, it releases one modified gill that becomes a small glowing bomb that will attract the attention of the hungry fish as it drifts away from the worm. This gives the green bomber long enough to make a hasty retreat out of harm’s way.
When examining these glowing bombs, which are about 2 millimeters across, scientists have found that they contain four chambers. Each probably contains fluids which are kept apart until released and then react to make the glow. This is similar to the method we have used to make the “glow sticks’ that children play with at night. Once broken off, the worm will take a while to regenerate a new “bomb” to be ready, so the worm is probably careful about the use of this predator avoidance system.
It makes us wonder how evolutionists can imagine a “Just So” system of accidents that could lead to such amazing structures as those found on the “green bomber.” So we see that God, in His infinite wisdom in creating the “green bomber,” has, again, given us reason to marvel at His Almighty creative ability when He created, “… every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly …” Genesis 1:21. Let us praise God for His marvelous works. –Rt 1 Box 116A, Belington, WV 26250. aedeverson@yahoo.com