The new nematode species - called Halicephalobus mephisto partly for Mephistopheles, the demon of Faustian legend - suggests there's a rich new biosphere beneath our feet.
Before the discovery of the signs of the newfound worm at depths of 2.2. miles (3.6 kilometers), nematodes were not known to live beyond dozens of feet (tens of meters) deep. Only microbes were known to occupy those depths - organisms that, it turns out, are the food of the 0.5-millimeter-long worm.
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