Because almost everything under the sea is reminiscent of some alien from the Star Wars universe, researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa have named a newly discovered species of coral after everyone’s favorite growling, bowcasting Wookie co-pilot. And rightfully so I dare say. The coral, named Iridogorgia chewbacca,
Another day, another never-before-seen video of an underwater alien (previously: a colossal squid). This time, a living specimen of a Gonatus antarcticus squid that was filmed at a depth of 7,000-feet in the Southern Ocean while shooting a video for National Geographic. The species was only previously described via dead
Seen here catching a ride on a jellyfish because work smarter, not harder, this is an incredibly informative video from Bizarre Beasts detailing the evolutionary development of the argonaut, the only octopus with a shell, and the only one that lives in the open ocean, unlike the rest of its
This is a video of pet octopus Marty (who I believe is an Octopus bimaculatus, aka Verrill’s two-spot octopus) opening a closed jar just moments after being exposed to one for the first time. That’s impressive. How we knew to turn it is beyond me, and certainly beyond my roommate,
This is some footage from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) of Bathydevius caudactylus, aka the mystery mollusc. It lives in the midnight zone (1000 – 4000m) of Monterey Bay, and is recognized as a swimming sea slug. But can it really be a slug if it can swim?
This is a video from a depth of 3,300 meters (10,827 feet — more than 2 miles) in the Tonga Trench (the second deepest trench behind the Mariana) between new Zealand and Fiji of a rarely seen Bigfin squid (misnomer, should have been named Longleg Squid) trolling its 13-foot tentacles
Scientists from The University of Western Australia and Kelpie Geosciences in the UK have captured footage of a rarely seen Dana octopus squid, which features giant bioluminescent headlights on two of its arms. The photophores are some of the largest in the world — about the size of lemons. Damn!
This is some footage from a manned research submarine investigating the life around a methane seep off the coast of Costa Rica when it encountered a new species (Pectinereis strickrotti) of deep sea worm, that appear to swim almost as if they’re magic carpets. Freaky! Per submarine pilot Bruce Strickrott,