Antarctic Scale Worm
(Eulagisca gigantea)

Found on the seafloor around Antarctica, the Antarctic Scale Worm is an armored, predatory worm covered in overlapping scale-like plates — and fringed along its sides with what appears to be golden, almost glowing hair-like bristles called chaetae. These bristles can detach and embed themselves in predators as a defense, and the worm's iridescent, shifting appearance under light has made it one of the more unexpectedly striking deep-sea discoveries!