No, the image above isn’t someone’s imagination… it’s an actual, factual creature that lives under the sea! Recent photos have been released of Polychaetes (bristle worms), tiny annelid worms that can survive deep sea pressures and without any sunlight whatsoever.
Scientists discovered these little bristle worms living as communities around hydrothermal vents, better known as “cracks in the seafloor” around quake zones, volcanoes, and the edges of tectonic plates. These vents release extremely hot water and chemicals that the worms live in.
Also in the family of bristle worms are the scale worms. Don’t let their angry looking teeth fool you – they only use them to munch on bacteria and other simple organisms that live in the chemicals and water around the hydrothermal vents. Since there’s no sunlight this deep underwater, they get their energy and life from these chemicals.
“The deep sea realm is one of the most diverse habitats on Earth,” says Daniel Desbruyeres, a senior researcher at Ifremer, France, “yet our perception of it is still in its infancy.” Psh, obviously.