iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Cephalopods Daily @cephalopodsdaily.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

Brachioteuthis squids have these extremely long necks as paralarva, which give them a very goofy appearance.

A photo of a Brachioteuthis paralarva at night. It is transparent and blue, and it has a long neck. There are some orange chromatophores on the squid.

A blackwater photo of a Brachioteuthis paralarva. It is transparent and blue, and it has a long neck. There are some orange chromatophores on the squid.

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AUT Squid Squad @autsquidsquad.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

And this was the #SQXmas2024 present we got most excited about at NIWA—a young Cycloteuthis, with ‘sun and moon’ photophores on the viscera in a configuration I’d never seen before. That’s a wrap for 2024—sending best fishes and squid tidings for the New Year!

A small deep-sea squid with bright white light organs in the mantle, one round and one shaped like a crescent moon

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HulloThere @jethroreading32.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

You didn't think we'd get through the last week of #25DaysOfFishmas without one more anglerfish could you? But with 170+ species, how do you pick? Well, you just go with the weirdest one - today we're discussing Thaumatichthys, the wolftrap angler.

10 different deep sea anglerfish, from different families. On the left - Centrophryne, Cryptopsaras, Himantolophus, Diceratias, Bufoceratias. On the right - Bufoceratias, Melanocetus, Lasiognathus, Thaumatichthys, and Chaenophryne. The fishes share little in common, save large mouths and a bioluminescent lure, mounted on a "rod" extending from the forehead - the length of this rod varies, though, as does the complexity of the light organ at its tip. Some light organs are plain and bulbous, others very complex and covered with tassels. Credit: Miya, M., Pietsch, T.W., Orr, J.W., Arnold, R.J., Satoh, T.P., Shedlock, A.M., Ho, H.C., Shimazaki, M., Yabe, M. and Nishida, M., 2010. Evolutionary history of anglerfishes (Teleostei: Lophiiformes): a mitogenomic perspective. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 10, pp.1-27.

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Lisa @tuexplorer1.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

All kinds of life happening here! Octo with leeches, polychaete, sea star, demosponges, kelp?, & i think I see a wee psolus along w/ a lot of other critters. They're currently trying to avoid an iceberg, which is fascinating the hell out of me. #SchmidtOcean dive 767 #IntoSouthernOcean #MarineLife

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Lisa @tuexplorer1.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

Lovely swimming crinoid. #SchmidtOcean dive 767 #IntoSouthernOcean #MarineLife

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Ryan Howard @abyssalaquanaut.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

Ah, histioteuthidae , easily one of my favorite families of squids. They have many names, one being strawberry squids. Strawberry, because their bodies are covered in photophores, which resemble the seeds of a strawberry. Plus their mantle is kinda strawberry shaped. 🦑 🧪 #Inverts

The full body of a Histioteuthid squid. The large eye is always located on the left side of the squid (from the squids perspective, so on the right in this picture). They’re covered in photophores which can help to distinguish the specie, and usually have photophores at the tips of their arms, likely to help catch prey.

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franz @franzanth.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

The party begins on Wednesday!

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Cephalopods Daily @cephalopodsdaily.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

Opalescent Inshore Squid (Doryteuthis opalescens) lay their eggs in these large "mops" of eggs, which contain a bunch of egg capsules. Each capsule can contain a couple hundred squid eggs, which seems like a lot until you see how big the squids are when they hatch!

Many Opalescent Inshore Squids (Doryteuthis opalescens) around a large mop of squid eggs. The squid are long squid shaped squids with their mantle making the majority of their length. They are somewhat silver and big eyes that almost look like googly eyes. Several squid are dead on the sea floor near the eggs. The mops are made up of many white egg capsules that resemble sausages with more tapered ends. They are almost completely a slightly translucent white, although there is a tiny brownish bit on many of their ends. Each capsule contains many eggs, upwards of 300 eggs. The mop takes up most of the frame.

A recently hatched Opalescent Inshore Squid (Doryteuthis opalescens) next to a person's finger. It is very small and is completely dwarfed by the persons finger. It appears to be only a couple of millimetres long. It is mostly transparent, with some orangish red chromatophores.

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Ryan Howard @abyssalaquanaut.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

This is a pale toadfish, Ambophthalmos angustus. You might have seen pictures of a deep sea blob fish that was popular a few years ago on the internet. That species, and this fish, are both part of the Psychrolutidae family. #MarineLife 🧪

A more dorsal view of the pale toadfish laying on a flat surface. It’s a purple-brownish color with brown mottling all over.

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Jo Wolfe, PhD @jopabinia.bsky.social · 20/12/2023

Every night, some crustaceans migrate upwards, up to 1000m from the twilight zone, to feed. They poop on the way down, transferring nutrients to deeper waters. Other species or larval stages maintain depth in the water column by riding gelatinous zooplankton! #Crustmas 🧪🦑

Phyllosoma (larval stage of a spiny or slipper lobster) riding a jellyfish in Kona, Hawaii. It is transparent with a broad flat head shield, and long long limbs (neither of which are so extreme in the adult). Photo by Steven Kovacs
https://twitter.com/ngfl3333/status/1567251570454151170

Copepod Calanus finmarchicus, seen in lateral view. It's a bit blobby and transparent, with long antennulae posed under the body. The abdomen (urosome) is pointed upwards and looks red.
https://www.feednavigator.com/Article/2019/04/09/Norwegian-plankton-developer-braced-for-growth

Antarctic krill Euphausia superba. In natural hovering position - the red organs produce the bioluminescence - the hepatopancreas is filled with green phytoplankton, the food of krill, the straight gut in the back is filled with the empty shells of phytoplankton - in the front you see the compound eyes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctic_krill#/media/File:Antarctic_krill_(Euphausia_superba).jpg

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Ryan Howard @abyssalaquanaut.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Do you know how sea stars crawl around on the sea floor? On the aboral (top) side of sea stars there’s a light colored opening called a madreporite. It looks like a stone coral, or madrepore, which is where its name is derived. #MarineLife #Inverts 🧪

An orange five-armed sea star laying on a flat surface.

The same 5-armed sea star, but zoomed in to showcase the madreporite, which is circled in black.

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Ryan Howard @abyssalaquanaut.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

It’s amazing the designs evolution stumbles upon. This is a prickly king crab, endemic to New Zealand. Paralomis zealandica, is a member of the family Lithodidae, or deep-sea “crabs.” “Crabs” because they’re not true crabs. They’re more closely related to hermit crabs. #MarineLife #Inverts 🧪

A damaged prickly king crab sits on the sorting belt of a fisheries research vessel. It’s exoskeleton covered in many long spikes.

The carapace of the prickly king crab, which is a radiant orange, but this one is unfortunately a bit broken.

The right claw of the prickly king crab. Even its pincers have small spikes

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Daryll Marie @daryllmarie.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

📌 peep my feeds for critters! 🦊 Mammals: bsky.app/profile/did:... 🦉 Birds: bsky.app/profile/did:... 🦑 Marine Life: bsky.app/profile/did:... 🐍 Herps: bsky.app/profile/did:... 🐯 Zoosky: bsky.app/profile/did:... 🐋🦭 Marine Mammalogy: bsky.app/profile/did:... 🦇🔊 Bioacoustics: bsky.app/profile/did:...

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Ryan Howard @abyssalaquanaut.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

You gatta love these little guys. They come up in most trawls, and I’ve seen them on every expedition I’ve done in NZ. They’re aquatic isopods. That means they’re crustaceans (like lobsters & crabs) and are in the same group as terrestrial pill bugs/sow bugs/ rollie pollies. #MarineLife 🧪 #Inverts

A front view of a pale aquatic isopod on a blue glove.

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Ariel Waldman @arielwaldman.com · 18/12/2024

So cool! This is near where I work in Antarctica. “Scientists estimate that [glass sponges] can live for more than 10,000 years, possibly 15,000 years maximum. One glass sponge observed by researchers in the Ross Sea, a bay of Antarctica, is thought to be the oldest living animal on the planet.”

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Lisa @tuexplorer1.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

I think this one is a bathyteuthis

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Lisa @tuexplorer1.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

Mardi Gras squid (Planctoteuthis)! From what I've gathered from the squid folks is the tail could be used to mimic a siphonophore so that a predator chomps the tail & not the body? I do believe the tail eventually falls off, but def look that up yourself. 😉

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Lisa @tuexplorer1.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

Forgot to add #MarineLife

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Lisa @tuexplorer1.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Megalocranchia (maybe). #MarineLife #SchmidtOcean Dive 337 Cape Range Canyon #NingalooCanyons #OzOceans2020

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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Also for American Scientist, I wrote about a new citizen citizen video game that helps us process ocean data, interviewing @kakanikatija.bsky.social www.americanscientist.org/blog/science...

americanscientist.org

Help Scientists Study the Ocean with FathomVerse

A new game involving videos of ocean life joins citizen science with AI.

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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

A cluster of goose barnacles in a #Humboldt tide pool for #Crustmas. 🤿

A cluster of about 40 stalked barnacles. Each barnacle is made up of triangular white plates of varying sizes. The opening of each barnacle looks like vertical bright red lips. From inside of each barnacle a series of long thin banded brown and white projections reach out like fingers attempting to grab food. The stalks, which are mostly not visible, are leathery looking with a fine texture resembling sandpaper.

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Ryan Howard @abyssalaquanaut.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

Though it’s kind of hard to tell, this a vampire squid, which is a misnomer because this species of cephalopod is neither squid, nor is it an octopus. They sit in their own order called Vampyromorphida, and are genetically closer to octopuses than squids. 🦑🧪 #Invert

Vampyroteuthis infernalis lays on a flat surface with its beak showing and mantle fins spread, which are used for its main mode of locomotion.

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Cephalopods Daily @cephalopodsdaily.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Southern shortfin squid (Illex coindetii) lay large eggs masses that look like cat's eye marbles. They are on average a metre in diameter, which is pretty impressive given that the female squids are usually only 25-27 cm in mantle length.

A large egg mass of a southern shortfin squid (Illex coindetii) floating in the ocean. It is roughly spherical shape. It is mostly transparent, except for a light brown twisty mass inside, that makes it resemble a cat's eye marble. A diver swims nearby, flashing a light on the egg mass. The egg mass is larger than average, about as big as the diver.

A large egg mass of a southern shortfin squid (Illex coindetii) floating in the ocean. It is roughly spherical shape, although there is an extra blob shaped bit sticking out to the side. It is mostly transparent, except for a light brown twisty mass inside, that makes it resemble a cat's eye marble. The egg mass is being illuminated by a diver outside of the frame, and another diver is visible on the other side. You can see little unidentified things on the outside of the egg mass that resemble pine needles or grains of rice.

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Dr. Drew harvell @drewharvell.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Full moon rising over Monterey Bay and the Stars are out on a King Tide. Such a brilliant diversity! Bat stars, ochre stars, baby blood stars, and brittle stars! #Marinelife #Invert #lowtide #tidepool #intertidal #seastar

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Ryan Howard @abyssalaquanaut.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Scampi, or known as Kōura Rangi in Te Reo (Māori native language), is a delicacy here in New Zealand. They’re deep-sea clawed lobsters (not prawn) from the family Nephropidae that live in burrows and scavenge for carrion from deceased animals. #marinelife 🧪

A front view of a NZ scampi with its claws close to the camera.

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The Octopus Lady @theoctopuslady.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

My latest episode of Alien Ocean is now out on YouTube! This time, we're talking about brittle stars, and how they're weird, scary, and...wait, heroic? What?? Yes! This eldritch monster is one of the greatest heroes in the ocean! Why? YOU'LL HAVE TO WATCH TO FIND OUT! youtu.be/nRGjDmmiXfg 🦑

youtu.be

The Upsetting Reality of Brittle Stars

YouTube video by The Octopus Lady

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tessa @tesskou.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

A shocking quarter of all known freshwater fish species are currently at risk of extinction. Around 20 percent are impacted directly by climate change and many of them also suffer directly from pollution, including Tasmania's Maugean skate... 🧪🌿🦑🌏 #NatureWriting #WildOz

sciencealert.com

Shocking Wake-Up Call: First Marine Fish Declared Extinct Due to Humans

Java Stingarees are the first marine fish to be declared extinct as a result of human activity.

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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

It infuriates me to see these AI videos of “deep sea animals” pop up on my TikTok because the deep sea is already incredibly fucking weird, there is NO NEED to put human teeth on a freaky fish then stick weird tentacles on its butt. We already have holothurians, acorn worms, tripod fish, ETC.

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Ryan Howard @abyssalaquanaut.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

There are some cool symbiotic relationships in the deep sea. I’ve showcased parasitism, but here’s a mutualistic one between a crustacean and a surfing anemone. The crustacean benefits from extra protection the stinging cells of the anemone provide, as well as additional camouflage. #MarineLife 🧪

A crustacean with a rather large anemone on its back.

Another picture of the same crustacean and anemone, which showcases a mutualistic relationship.

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Ryan Howard @abyssalaquanaut.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

There was a storm the other day, so our ship sheltered near Campbell Island. I went to the bridge to work on my thesis and enjoy the storm. It was eerily peaceful. In the distance I thought I could see a lighthouse, but was actually a naturally formed pinnacle.

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Ryan Howard @abyssalaquanaut.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

Many squids have photophores, or bioluminescent organs that use a chemical reaction to produce light. But to take it a step further, some squids actually have photophores on their eyes! 🦑 🧪

A brachioteuthid squid laying on a flat surface, ventral side up with its eyes centered.

A lycoteuthid squid laying on a surface, ventral side up, with one eye protruding out of its head.

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Seen on the descent of SOI dive 752. I spied @autsquidsquad.bsky.social ID’d them over on @brachioteuthis.bsky.social Twitter as probably moroteuthopsis for the first squid, and Taonius for the second (taonius and galiteuthis can look similar) #ChileMargin2024 ♥️ Cephalopods

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Ryan Howard @abyssalaquanaut.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

Here’s another very interesting and common marine organism. They’re copepods, albeit, they look almost nothing like typical free-living copepods you may know. This group starts as juveniles looking like most other copepods, but lose their limbs and antennae once they mature. 🦑🧪

A branch-like organ that is used to anchor the parasite to its host

The main body of the parasitic copepod that houses the reproductive and digestive organs. In this stage of its lifecycle, it has lost its limbs and antennae

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Ryan Howard @abyssalaquanaut.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Lots of deep-sea fish have special ocular adaptations called a tapetum lucidum. This reflective layer of tissue behind the retina bounces light back through the retina a second time to improve their vision in the dark. Cats have them too! Have you ever seen their eyes shine in the dark? 🦑🧪

A ghost shark (chimaera) with a blueish green tapetum lucidum

A bag of lanternfish. Two seem to have blue tapetum lucidums

A myctophid with only half of its head visible, including half the eye. It seems to have a yellow tapetum lucidum.

A shark with a dark yellow tapetum lucidum.

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Bugz n Slugz @moistmacro.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

So today we have a Headshield slug - technically not a #Nudibranch Chelidonura livida is still very handsome. A voracious predator of flatworms that it finds in shallow sand areas where you often find them swarming. #MarineLife #SeaSlug #Inverts

A photograph from above of a sea slug that is jet black but has a number of electric blue rings across its body.

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Ryan Howard @abyssalaquanaut.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

Doesn’t get much cooler than this dragonfish! These deep-sea predators are black to camouflage well in the dark sea, but have a long lure under their lower jaw with a bioluminescent tip. The lure is believed to attract prey to aid in hunting, and perhaps recognize potential mates. Badass. 🦑🧪

A picture of a dragonfish zoomed into the head and the bioluminescent lure attached to its lower jaw.

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Ryan Howard @abyssalaquanaut.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

If we’re lucky, we get to do deep vertical mesopelagic trawls. That’s when we get some cool creatures… … like this octopoteuthis, or octopus squid. Named so because it lacks tentacles and has only 8 arms, just like an octopus! But they are squid that lost their tentacles during their evolution. 🦑🧪

An octopoteuthis, or octopus squid, lays on a surface. It has only 8 arms, in contrast to the 8 arms and 2 tentacles most squid have.

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Lisa @tuexplorer1.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Squid-shaped-squid from #SchmidtOcean dive 623 from the #OctoOdyssey expedition. #MarineLife There's also a pretty flatworm in the comments.

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Steve Haddock @stevehaddock.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

A video we made at @mbarinews.bsky.social explaining some functions of #fluorescence in the ocean, and how #bioluminescence is different… but related. 🦑🧪🌊 m.youtube.com/watch?v=whbe...

m.youtube.com

The allure of fluorescence in the ocean

YouTube video by MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)

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Lisa @tuexplorer1.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

I had no idea they came with different numbers of legs! As if they couldn't get any better, pycnogonid goes and does it again! #MarineLife

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Ryan Howard @abyssalaquanaut.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Many fish use swim bladders to help them adjust their buoyancy and depth in the ocean. Deep-sea fish are typically physoclistous, meaning their bladders are closed, like this swim bladder from a cusk eel. I thought it was exceptionally cool because of its unique elongated shape! Plus shiny ✨ 🦑🧪

A researcher holds up a long swim bladder from a cusk eel.

The swim bladder lays on a surface, it’s silver and shines.

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George Matsumoto @georgeimatsumoto.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

🧪📍🌊 🦑🍎 The NOAA Ocean Guardian Youth Ambassador program provides a new level of engagement for youth aged 13-18 committed to ocean conservation and stewardship of our blue planet. links-1.govdelivery.com/CL0/https:%2...

links-1.govdelivery.com

Ocean Guardian Youth Ambassador Application

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is committed to building and strengthening efforts to share the agency’s mission with youth through outreach and education programs to increa...

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Lisa @tuexplorer1.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

A thread with some really beautiful examples of why midwater is my favorite place to explore. From #SchmidtOcean dive 556 during their #VentUnderworld expedition. The midwater above vent sites have never failed to have amazing animals like this stunning Vitreledonella (glass octopus)! #MarineLife

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AUT Squid Squad @autsquidsquad.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

Info on every ceph species, at your fingertips? Yes please! Help us finish CephRef (live demo site cephref.org ), a new website for ceph ID & biological info. Please support on gofund.me/5e00ac9a (until Dec 20) & share the link - thank you! 🦑🐙🦑🐙

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Ryan Howard @abyssalaquanaut.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

More parasites! Squeamish beware… Some fish are absolutely crawling with parasites, literally… this species of fish is known to have their guts full of tape worms. 🧪🦑

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Lisa @tuexplorer1.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

I can't give y'all cephalopods without showing you one of my fave squids, & the first time the Spirula Spirula (Ram's Horn squid) was filmed in-situ back in Oct. 2020 during #SchmidtOcean dive 402(pt.B) in the Wreck Bay Plunge Pool, Australia. #MarineLife

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Lisa @tuexplorer1.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

I'll never tire of sharing these. I stopped looking at my saved image count when it got past 6,000 a couple years back... but that's beside the point. 👀 @ this beautiful Aulacoctena from #SchmidtOcean dive 621 in Tangosed Seamount! Forget AI images, I'll have this instead. #MarineLife

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