‘Gorgeous’ sea worm discovered by shocked scientists: ‘Sassy sparkler’ with ‘dazzle’

Scientists were dazzled after discovering an iridescent, bristled sea worm that is being compared to an aquatic “toilet scrubber.”

The nonprofit Schmidt Ocean Institute recently shared a video of the hairy ocean inhabitant — which it dubbed a “sassy sparkler” — on Instagram.

“To describe this polychaete [a type of segmented marine worm], one simply must use jazz hands — it is the only way to capture this deep-sea worm’s dazzle!” they wrote.

Accompanying footage shows the shimmery critter crawling across the ocean floor like a burlesque sea slug.

The polychaete was discovered by a remotely piloted robot that was exploring the Chile Margin, “a submerged continental shelf extends from the country’s west coast and drops steeply and suddenly into the Pacific Ocean,” per the post.

“Very bizarre and gorgeous, it reminds me of a moving toupee,” quipped one Instagram commenter while describing the find (pictured). Instagram / Schmidt Ocean Institute

The worm was discovered on a submerged continental shelf called the Chilean Margin. Instagram / Schmidt Ocean Institute

The Chile Margin’s tectonic forces and terrestrial influences make it ideal for probing “deep-sea environments that host animals like this [queue jazz hands] shimmering deep-sea worm,” the researchers wrote.

According to the post, each of the creature’s body segments sports a pair of fleshy appendages called parapodia that are forested with bristles called chaetae.

While many worms are bioluminescent, this “sassy sparkler” is iridescent due to special protein structures in its plumage.

“To describe this polychaete, one simply must use jazz hands — it is the only way to capture this deep-sea worm’s dazzle!” scientists wrote of the bizarre ocean inhabitant (above). Instagram / Schmidt Ocean Institute

Instagram users were flabbergasted over the find.

“SNAZZY! reminds me of a cross between a porcupine and a skunk, spiky, coloring, and that trundling waddle,” exclaimed one.

“Very bizarre and gorgeous, it reminds me of a moving toupee,” quipped another.

“Let’s go to mars they said, it will be the next revolution, yet we know nothing about our own ocean,” said a third.

Others compared the polychaete to everything from “eyelashes” to “toilet scrubbers.”

There are around 8,000 known species of these marine worms, which range in size from a few millimeters to around 10 feet in length.

The undersea animals are also multifaceted in their function and diet, from the heat-tolerant species that congregate at hydrothermal vents to the bone-eating worms that cycle nutrients.

Despite their alien countenance, certain species of the critter are commonly used as fishing bait and even human food in certain areas of the South Pacific.