It is the deepest-living animal ever found, able to withstand heat and crushing pressure,[4] and the first multicellular organism found at deep subsurface levels. A previously known species found at similar depths in the same study was Plectus aquatilis.[2] Borgonie said that the worm was similar to the detritus feeding species found on the surface, and probably descended from surface species. Such species are also able to survive extremes of temperature, and so, for Borgonie, the fact the first animal discovered at this depth was a worm was unsurprising.[2] The team hypothesised that the species was descended from animals on the surface that were washed down the earth's crust by rainwater.[2]