The siboglinid tubeworm, Lamellibrachia sp. (Annelida: Vestimentifera) has recently been described and reported from various sites in the eastern basin and in a single site in the western basin of the Mediterranean Sea. Here we report a further record of Lamellibrachia sp. in the western Mediterranean, where these giant worms were sampled—by the grabbers of a working class ROV—from the shipwreck of the liner ‘Catania’, sunk in 1917 at 490 m depth off the coast of Cetraro (Calabria, southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy). Twenty-seven entire tubes were collected ranging from 23 to 60 cm in length and from 0.6 to 13 mm in diameter. Clear annulations were present near the tube openings. Only two of the tubes contained specimens of Lamellibrachia, both lacking most of the posterior portion (including the opisthosoma); the obturaculum was 13 mm long in both specimens; three sheath lamellae and eight branchial lamellae occurred in one specimen, and six and 14 in the other. DNA analysis through COI sequencing suggests a close similarity with specimens collected in the eastern Mediterranean (GenBank EU046616) and belonging to a new species recently described. It needs still to be clarified which type of energy source the obligate symbiotic bacteria of these worms may use for nutrition, since no sulphur emissions can be documented on and around the shipwreck. The ‘Catania’ contained some wooden structures and was transporting cotton balls and oil seeds, so the symbiotic bacteria may rely on degradation of these materials. This record stresses the importance of shipwreck as a possible stepping stone habitat for the large scale dispersion of Vestimentifera.

Vestimentiferan tubeworms are significant members of deep-sea chemosynthetically-driven communities, including hydrothermal vents and cold seeps. The reproductive condition in this taxon is rarely studied because of sampling constraints inherent to these environments, and the lack of a simple methodology to quantify gonad development in vestimentiferans.

We demonstrate that the amount of gonad found in the first 10 mm of trunk can be used as representative of the reproductive condition of the individual, and we establish a linear relationship between the amount of gonad and the proportion of wax ester in the trunk of female vestimentiferans. This relationship represents a new method for the determination of the reproductive condition in this group.

Specimens of the vestimentiferan tubeworm Lamellibrachia sp. were collected from the wreck of the SS ‘Persia’ at 2800 m depth south-east of Crete, in association with decomposing paper in the ship's mailroom. Anaerobic breakdown of cellulose by bacterial consortia including sulphate-reducers is proposed as the source of sulphide required by Lamellibrachia's chemoautotrophic symbionts. Timing of wreck colonization is unknown but observed tube dimensions suggest growth rates at least equal to those measured for Lamellibrachia luymesi at Gulf of Mexico hydrocarbon seeps. The organic substrate supporting vestimentiferan growth in the ‘Persia’ is remarkable in consisting of highly refractory, human-modified terrestrial plant material. This record therefore expands the range of energy sources known to support chemosynthetic communities at the deep-sea floor.