A SPARKLY deep-sea worm has stunned researchers with its rainbow-like bristles in a 3,000ft ocean trench off the coast of Chile.
The bristle worm, known as a polychaete, was caught on camera inside the Chile Margin, a trench that extends the entire length of South America.
Researchers, collaborating with non-profit the Schmidt Ocean Institute, spotted the alien-like creature with an underwater robot.
The robot, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) known as SuBastian, is one of many being used by scientists to explore inhuman depths.
Each segment of the worm's body has a pair of fleshy protrusions, according to researchers, which are covered in hedgehog-like spikes.
"To describe this polychaete, one simply must use jazz hands — it is the only way to capture this deep-sea worm’s dazzle," the team wrote in an Instagram post, showing off the creature.
"Some worms are bioluminescent, but this sassy sparkler has protein structures in the bristles that makes them iridescent."
The "shimmering deep-sea worm" was found during the institute's 55-day expedition to the Chile Margin, which began in October.
An international science team is exploring along the Margin, which the institute says it is a "natural laboratory" due to its positioning along the tectonic plates.
The team comprises marine scientists from the US, Portugal and Chile.
"While the presence of these deep-sea environments on the Chile Margin is known, they have been minimally explored and sampled due to limited access to advanced ocean technologies," the non-profit said of the mission.
The institute added that these "unexplored submarine canyons" are "likely host biodiversity hotspots".
Drs. Jeffrey Marlow of Boston University, Patricia Esquete of the University of Aveiro in Portugal, and Eulogio Soto of the University of Valparaiso in Chile have teamed up to map the ecosystems off the coast of Chile.
The expedition is taking place under the Challenger 150 Programme, a decade-long deep-sea research initiative backed by UNESCO's oceanographic commission.
The team intends to explore the Limarí Seeps, the El Quisco Seep Area, the Concepcíon Methane Seep Area, the Mocha Island Seep Area, and the Chilean Triple Junction.
During their expedition, which is expected to run until early December, the researchers hope to locate new methane seeps, hydrothermal vents and discover new species.
