Prepare to be captivated by a discovery from the depths of the ocean that defies belief. Roman Fedortsov, a Russian fisherman renowned for uncovering deep-sea oddities, has shared his latest enigmatic find on social media – a peculiar “smiling” worm that will undoubtedly send shivers down your spine.
Fedortsov posted a video of this eerie marine creature on Twitter, showcasing its bizarre and unsettling appearance.
At first glance, this worm, dwelling in the sun-deprived depths of the ocean, appears to be smiling. A sequence of dots resembles its eyes and nose, while an opening shaped like a crescent mirrors a mouth.
However, as the video unfolds, the worm unexpectedly inverts this “face,” revealing a wholly new visage that seems straight out of a science fiction nightmare.
To amplify the eerie effect, Fedortsov added a sound effect to the video, offering an auditory glimpse into how he envisions this creature might scream if it possessed such a capability.
The video’s caption reads: “If the creature could scream, it would scream like this.”
Despite the sinister grin, Mark Siddall, an expert from the Museum of Natural History in New York City, suggests that the “smiling face” may be a trick of the camera angle.
Siddall, a curator in the museum’s Division of Invertebrate Zoology, identifies the worm as a polychaete, commonly known as a marine bristle worm. These tenacious creatures have survived five mass extinctions, despite inhabiting the coldest reaches of the ocean.
The marine bristle worm family tree remains a profound mystery. With a lineage spanning 505 million years, these creatures have evolved into approximately 10,000 distinct species.
Bristle worms are characterized by tiny bristles called chaetae that cover their bodies. These bristles enable them to move swiftly, burrow, create tubes, crawl, and swim.
New species of marine bristle worms can be discovered during any deep-sea expedition, as exemplified by Fedortsov’s revelation.
Siddall explains that this particular worm belongs to the nereid family, although its specific species remains unidentified.
A previous article from Live Science elucidates that the “head” of this worm is, in fact, a retractable pharynx that unravels and expands with its jaw to grasp and capture food. When this pharynx coils back into the worm’s body, it creates the illusion of a smiling face.
While this worm may initially seem charming, it swiftly unveils its chilling nature, leaving you haunted for the rest of the day.
