The deep ocean is home to a deal of unearthly tool . Some are make new species living in themidnight zone , while others are recorded visiting the depths of the ocean in something of asurprising move . The deep sea gives raise to all sorts of adaptations and in the case of this recently recorded species , end up making something akin to a deep - sea discotheque formal .
The squad at Schmidt Ocean Institute were using their 3,200 - kilo ( 7,055 - pound ) remotely operated vehicle ( ROV ) SuBastian off the coast of Chile when the ROV captured footage of an strange creature roaming across the sea base . With black bristle that foam in the luminosity from the submersible , the tool resembles a disco cat lay down its way along while other creatures leap out of the means .
The disco cat is in reality a polychaete , a type of inscrutable - sea worm known as a bristle louse , for obvious reasons . There are around 13,000 metal money of polychete worm that exist in devil dog ecosystem all across the humanity . These species include everything from thebloodworms(shudder ) to the downright ridiculous but aptly namedpigbutt insect .
“ Each body segment has a pair of sarcoid protrusions call parapodium comprehend in bristles called chaetae . Some worms are bioluminescent , but this impertinent ice has protein structures in the bristles that make them iridescent , ” Schmidt Ocean explain onInstagramon November 4 .
Somepolychaetesform symbiotic relationship with bacteria and can go the extremely high - temperature differences found onhydrothermal vent . Other polychaetes dwell on a diet of plankton and maritime Charles Percy Snow that falls from higher up in the sea to the sea story . As such they play an important role in the marine ecosystem cleaning up detritus at the bottom of the sea .
The polychaete was see as part of the#ChileMargin2024mission . This is a 55 - day delegation that will see the team exploring the submarine canyons along the Nazca plate . Off the west coast of Chile , the continental shelf set down steeply into the Pacific Ocean and runs the entire length of South America .
The squad plans to look into hydrothermal venthole and hydrocarbon seeps along this area that have never previously been inspect by a scientific ROV .
