Fla. diver finds 'living intestine' worm

JUNO BEACH, Fla., May 3 (UPI) -- A Florida diver has discovered what appears to be a giant unknown variety of marine worm on an underwater ledge a mile offshore.

Jay Garbose is an underwater videographer who has traveled the world filming for National Geographic and the Discovery Channel. He told The South Florida Sun-Sentinel he has seen nothing as strange as the worm on Juno Ledge.

"At first I thought it was a sea cucumber, although no one's ever seen one stretched 7 to 10 feet the way this one was," Garbose said. "It's sort of gray and putty-like and very smooth and taffy-like in the way it stretches. Some of my friends and I have sort of dubbed it the living intestine."

Garbose took his videotape to the Smithsonian, where scientists told him it is a nemertean worm. But they could not pin down the species and say that particular one might be unknown to science.

If that proves to be the case, Garbose could get naming rights -- but only if he can provide a type specimen. He plans to go back to Juno Ledge but is not optimistic about his chances of finding the odd specimen again.