These new species have been collected by scientists over the past few years. Technically, these four species are scaly worms, but researchers call them the Elvis worm due to their unique appearance.

These deep sea-dwelling worms emit a shimmering roof cover, reminiscent of the sparkling fashion style of the king of Rock’n’roll music.

Scientists have only recently been able to distinguish the differences between Elvis pests thanks to genetic analysis. The researchers described these four species - Peinaleopolynoe goffrediae , P. mine , P. orphanae and P. elvisi in a new article published in ZooKeys.

The Orinanae Peinaleoplynoe has a gorgeous appearance

It was a mystery to live in such a dark place where they glistened like that

Beneath their glittering scales are branching structures like the lungs. Researchers suspect the agency has evolved complexities to allow worms to breathe in low oxygen environments. Most Elvis worms are found near whale carcasses and other decomposing organic forms. One of these newly named species is found living near a hydrothermal vents.

All four newly named species were discovered at least 1,000 meters below sea level - too deep for sunlight to reach them.

Compare four new species

The Elvis worm has no eyes while some deep sea creatures still have. These worms also do not produce light themselves, and they cannot see light without their eyes, so their iridescent shells do not serve the purpose of communication.

Instead, scientists claim that their glistening scales provide a number of defensive benefits. Hunters at the bottom of the deep sea with lights under their eyes can be dazzled when looking into the Elvis worm. It is also possible that the iridescent colors of their shell play no functional role.

The researchers also identified what they thought were grooves on the shells of the worms. After filming a pair of fighting worms, the scientists realized they didn’t look at the notch. “It was not until we saw the video of them fighting that it appeared. It’s like ’wait, there’s this thing in the scales, these marks, is the bite’. Greg Rouse, a marine biologist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San di‌ego, said.

You can even see the bite on the victor’s body