iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Flashback to end of 2024 beginning of 2025 when @schmidtocean.bsky.social was in the Antarctic

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Haven’t had time to watch a lot of dives lately, but just a reminder of the beauty out there

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Happy Ctenophore day! A couple aulococtena, a bloody belly lampocteis, and a benthic ctenophore. #ctenophoreday

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

So the yellow is a sphryion parasitic copepod. But whatever those white things are are parasitizing the parasite!

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

@echinoblog.bsky.social Hey Chris! Watching an old dive from NOAA in 2019. I couldn’t figure out how to spell what you were calling the sea star? would you be able to tell me? It’s pretty awesome looking. I don’t think I’ve seen anything like this yet!

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

For those that don’t know what I was talking about with phaeodarians, radiolarians and foraminifera. Here are a couple pictures. The first is what I mistakenly thought was a radiolarian but is actually a phaeodarian. The other is a foraminifera. Dive 897 #LivingBioreactors @schmidtocean.bsky.social

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

@cadurkin.bsky.social Aloha! I have questions. (sorry I couldn’t send a DM) I believe you are the protist person on the SOI expedition. So I’ve started going down this rabbit hole of radiolarian vs phaeodarian, trying to understand the difference. Prior to your saying phaeodarian, I’ve never …. 1/

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

Happy International Squid Day!

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

Happy International Squid Day!

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Happy World Octopus Day! I know I have put a bunch up. Last one!

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Happy World Octopus Day! (I wasn’t kidding when I said I had a ton of octopus photos for OCTOber) 😆

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Happy World Octopus Day! I have no shortage of octopus pictures to share today. Octopus and amazing, beautiful, and so very smart. Thank you to @schmidtocean.bsky.social @nautiluslive.org @oceannetworks.ca @nepdep_ for taking us along on your journeys as we have seen these amazing animals!

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

#NEPDEP South Winona Ridge off the Canadian Pacific coast. Dive Y00043. Final shot for the dive. A beautiful opisthoteuthis flapjack octopus. 🥰 #PacificOcean #DeepSeaCreatures #DeepSea #OceanExploration

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

#NEPDEP South Winona Ridge off the Canadian Pacific coast. Dive Y00043. Tanner crab, sea star with a beautiful zoom, and this weird gastropod… had amphipods, weird clear blobs and an anemone on it, but no idea what type of gastropod. #PacificOcean #DeepSeaCreatures #DeepSea #OceanExploration

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

#NEPDEP South Winona Ridge off the Canadian Pacific coast. Dive Y00043. That anemone it’s just so pretty and with a zoom, “resting fish face” thornyhead, and an eel pout with a corallimorph. #PacificOcean #DeepSeaCreatures #DeepSea #OceanExploration

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

#NEPDEP South Winona Ridge off the Canadian Pacific coast. A tanner crab, a shot of a hagfish mouth with a crab, a flatfish, and a demosponge covered in amphipods with what appears to be a radiolarian (or foraminifera) next to it. #PacificOcean #DeepSeaCreatures #DeepSea #OceanExploration

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

More from #NEPDEP South Winona Ridge off the Canadian Pacific coast. A thornyhead zoom so close you can see sensory appendages on its face, an anemone with something weird going on (😂double decker), and an eelpout. #PacificOcean #DeepSeaCreatures #DeepSea #OceanExploration

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

#NEPDEP is diving on South Winona Ridge today off the Canadian pacific coast. A rough tail skate, looks to be a eelpout, a thornyhead fish with a sea star, and a beautiful anemone. #PacificOcean #DeepSeaCreatures #DeepSea #OceanExploration

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Reposted by Veronica

Schmidt Ocean Institute @schmidtocean.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

🦑 This baby is COLOSSAL! 🦑 First confirmed live observation of the colossal squid, Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, in its natural habitat. Filmed at about 600m near the South Sandwich Islands during the #SouthSandwichIslands expedition. youtu.be/lzPoG9H8Hlo

youtu.be

Colossal Squid, 1st Live Observation | Searching for New Species in the South Sandwich Islands

YouTube video by Schmidt Ocean

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

A squid (psychroteuthis?) and a beautiful relicanthus anemone (my fave anemone). They have very long tentacles that taper down to a very thin and can start curly q. And those tentacles can be over 2 m long.

There is a large reddish orange squid swimming in the mid water column in front of a large black rock formation. There is black wire behind it. The squid fin and mantle point to the left and the arms are pointing down to the right

In the center of the photo is a large pink anemone with dozens of tentacles radiating out from the center that are secure at the base and then taper down to thin trailing curling tentacles. Anchor to a rocky sea floor in front of dark water

A close-up of those tentacles that are thicker towards the base and then taper out to be thin and curling

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

Made it to dive 799! Close up of a pycnogonid sea spider and its proboscis. A lovely zoom on an acorn worm, a beautiful purple colored sea cucumber. And an odd pink lobster-like crustacean. #SouthSandwichIslands #MarineLife #AtlanticOcean @schmidtocean.bsky.social

A large sea spider that is yellow and color with an orange Pascus coming off to the right center. You can see eight thin yellow legs radiating out from a small central body

There is a translucent gelatinous worm sitting on top of the sediment covered seafloor. The head and neck are purple, there is a whitish central area in the neck and then you can see sand filling its digestive system down the center canal of the body going to the left

There is a dark purple sea cucumber sitting on top of the sediment covered sea floor. It is bumpy in texture. To the lower left of the screen is a thin white brittle star with five wavy arms

To the right lower corner is a pink lobster light crustacean with it fantail closer to the camera and four pairs of legs and one pair of claws with the antenna coming up towards the center of the screen

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

The octopus in this area all have those leeches on them. That Antarctic Sun star was fishing! You can see a fish it caught. And then an anemone with some sea cucumbers uniquely positioned next to it. Dive 798 #SouthSandwichIslands #MarineLife #AtlanticOcean @schmidtocean.bsky.social

In the center of a screen is a pinkish brown octopus with a little thread likely just coming off its mantle. It is surrounded by the feathery appendages of worms and then a red coral in the upper right

There is a large sun star with a multitude of arms radiating out from it central disc. It is brownish in color with a white under side of the arms. Several of the upper arms are curled toward the center with a silver fish caught on them

There is a large white-ish colored anemone to the left with all of its tentacles pointing left. Lots of bryozoans that are tan in color and look like grass coming up off the sea floor. On top of some of those bryozoans are seven short squat see cucumbers that are white-ish and color and bumpy in texture

A close-up of those sea cucumbers that are almost oval shaped, white-ish in color and bumpy in texture

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

Don’t see striped pycnogonid sea spiders amid bryozoans often, a closeup of an Antarctic sun star Labidiaster, and a couple shots of a glacial Psychroteuthis squid! So cool to see different than normal cephs. Dive 798 #SouthSandwichIslands #MarineLife #AtlanticOcean @schmidtocean.bsky.social

In the lower center of the screen is an orange and white striped sea spider with eight thick legs. Above it are leaf like looking colonial animals. On the vertical rock wall facing

In the upper left corner is the central disc of the Antarctic Sun star with over a dozen arms radiating out in all directions. It is a brown and pink color with white under side arms. Appears fuzzy looking

There is a large squid swimming chest above the sea floor is covered in colonial bryozoans that look like. The squid is Red on the top and white on the bottom with its fin extended and its arms turned towards the ocean floor.

A close-up on the head and arms of the squid. It is red on the top with white underneath. You can see the arms fanned out, and an eyeball just above them.

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

So far behind (expedition is over). These are dive 798. A corallimorph that caught a shrimpy meal, near fish, and then the tail of a fish chillin inside a sponge. #SouthSandwichIslands #MarineLife #AtlanticOcean @schmidtocean.bsky.social

Slightly left of center there is a translucent white animal with multiple tentacles that have an opaque white ball tip and waving in the current. Attached on top of our rocky surface

There is a white translucent animal With multiple tentacles that have white opaque tips curling around a translucent shrimp. Attached to a rocky surface

There is a gray and white striped fish sitting in the sea shape in the middle of the picture with a fin extending as long as entire top. Sitting on top of a sediment covered sea floor

There is a glass sponge hanging off of a vertical rock wall shaped like a pouch with a teardrop shaped opening going down the front. The outside is covered with hair like glass spicules. At the bottom of the opening in the sponge is a tail of a fish resting inside

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

Ok, What the heck?? Some weird ball like growths on this Brisingid. @echinoblog.bsky.social From the live dive of Okeanos off the southern coast of Oahu at 600ish meters.

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

All the octopuses in this area had leech parasites all over them. A bunch of isopods on that funky looking sponge. A Rockwall just covered in corals and sponges. And a large pycnogonid sea spider. Dive 798 #SouthSandwichIslands #MarineLife #AtlanticOcean @schmidtocean.bsky.social

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

The Antarctic sunstars Labidiaster are massive! The grenadier fish has two sphyrion parasitic copepods on it (and those long trailing pieces are gonads!). And a large tunicate that I don’t know the genus of. Dive 798 #SouthSandwichIslands #MarineLife #AtlanticOcean @schmidtocean.bsky.social

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

Beautiful umbellula, an anemone, osedax (?) bone worms! Look at that size of the polychaete worm!! Suggested it was eulagisca gigantea! Do I have any worm peeps that can confirm? I have never seen one with its scales on Dive 798 #SouthSandwichIslands #MarineLife @schmidtocean.bsky.social

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

Lovely shot of a sea mouse (laetmonice?), and an umbellula. I had originally thought the last one was an anemone, but the tentacles are feathery and someone suggested a burrowing sea cucumber? @echinoblog.bsky.social #SouthSandwichIslands #MarineLife #AtlanticOcean @schmidtocean.bsky.social

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

They were calling the first animal a sponge, but it looked gelatinous. They did collect it. Also a Slosarcyzkovia squid, thouarella primnoid coral, and an octopus that had parasites. Dive 798 #SouthSandwichIslands #MarineLife #AtlanticOcean @schmidtocean.bsky.social

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

Yesterday was the first SOI dive of the new expedition. Started off with a bang! Right off the bat was a siphonophore (looks almost erenna-like, but also not 😂) and a gonatus antarcticus squid. Dive 798 #SouthSandwichIslands #MarineLife #AtlanticOcean @schmidtocean.bsky.social #Siphonophore

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Things you can find (at least at times) in the midwater. Gorgeous shot of a periphylla jelly. A couple of an alluroteuthis squid (with some color changing effects), and one of a plunderfish. Dive 793 #AntarcticClimateConnections #MarineLife #SouthernOcean @schmidtocean.bsky.social

A purple-ish colored jelly bell surrounded by long thin tentacles splayed out against a dark water backdrop.

A squid swimming above a rocky sea floor. The head and arms are reddish orange and the mantle hazy metallic shiny colors to it

Squid swimming in the middle of the water column. Reddish orange in color, with an eye facing the camera and arms pointing downward

A speckled fish sitting on the rocky sea floors the fish has some large pelvic fins, large eyes, and a life coming up off its bottom lip.

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Stygiomedusa!!! AKA Giant phantom jelly. They are not very common to see, and SOI saw two back to back! These guys get to be huge. The bell can be 1 meter across, and arms up to 10 meters long! Dive 793 #AntarcticClimateConnections #MarineLife #SouthernOcean @schmidtocean.bsky.social

There is a large jelly with a purpleish brownish colored bell and very long purple arms extending from it swimming in dark water

looking at the underside of the bell of the jelly that is yellowish and striated in color with purple arms emanating from the center

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

This stalked crinoid had all kinds of commensal organisms. Crew said the pink animals were flatworms, and then there all the isopods vs amphipods (not the greatest at telling them apart). Dive 790 #AntarcticClimateConnections #MarineLife #SouthernOcean @schmidtocean.bsky.social

There is a start shaped crinoid radiating out from a central disc. Each arm has feather like structures

An arm has feather like structures that are brown in color with little pink areas along the pinules that are worms

An arm has feather like structures that are brown in color with little pink areas along the pinules that are worms. The grey stick like animals on the back arm pinules are amphipods/isopods

An arm has feather like structures that are brown in color with little pink areas along the pinules that are worms. There is a stick like amphipod/isopod that is grey in color with antennae and multiple pairs of legs

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

This anemone stood out as different from the rest of them. Even the stock of the anemone with its striated appearance was interesting. Dive 790 #AntarcticClimateConnections #MarineLife #SouthernOcean @schmidtocean.bsky.social

There is a large glass sponge with a ruffled top and holes along it surface on the left-hand side. There is a rocky outcrop with multiple small peach covered anemones and standing tall above it is one large white anemone with its stalk having a striated appearance and its tentacles extended into the water.

There is a large glass sponge with a ruffled top and holes along it surface on the left-hand side. Standing tall above it is one large white anemone with its stalk having a striated appearance and its tentacles extended into the water.

The stalk of the anemone is white and striated.

There is a large white anemone with its stalk having a striated appearance and its tentacles extended into the water.

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

On dive 790, SOI saw this lovely outcrop covered in anemones with a large funky shaped glass sponge. On zoom, there was a cool isopod on the glass sponge. #AntarcticClimateConnections #MarineLife #SouthernOcean @schmidtocean.bsky.social

There is a large glass sponge with two openings on a rocky outcrop to the left, the rest of the rocky out top is covered in peach/orange anemones

A closeup of the inside of one of the openings to the glass sponge. The surface is covered in holes that allows the water to go through

Two white anemones that are leaning over to the right. Large flat oral disc surrounded by tentacles. Attached to rocky outcrop

There is a funky long isopod with antennae and standing up off the glass sponge surface on skinny legs

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

A pretty white mushroom coral, a polychete worm on a glass sponge. Then you have a couple pucnogonid sea spiders feeding on anemones. These sea spiders looks a little different than the ones we normally see. #AntarcticClimateConnections #MarineLife #SouthernOcean @schmidtocean.bsky.social

A whitish pink soft coral with a mushroom like base appearance what gas multiple polyps with tentacles branching into the water column

A small polychete worm on top of a glass sponge

There are several peach anemones on top of a rocky area. At the base of the one farthest to the left is a sea spider with its legs drawn close as it is feeding on the anemone. In the mid right side is a striped fish

There is peach anemone with its tentacles retracted on top of a rocky area. At the base to the left is a sea spider with its legs drawn close as it is feeding on the anemone.

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

Ooooh look at that isopod! Also a pretty cup coral. Then two animals playing hide and seek: a pycnogonid sea spider hiding behind a hydroid (and another isopod), and an octopus in pancake mode.

There is a orange translucent crustacean in the middle of the photo with a pair of large antenna and multiple pairs of legs sitting on top a dark vertical wall face that is covered in worm tubes

There is a white cup coral with multiple tentacles that are covered in fine stinging cells coming up off the vertical wall face

There is gray branching hydroids all across the screen with some orange legs of a sea spider coming through it. At the bottom of one of the hydroids just right of center is a small red crustacean

Just to the left of center against a rock protrusion is a pink colored octopus that has flattened itself down onto the sandy sea floor. It’s arms are curled around its mantle.

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

Got a couple more cirroctopus. They are just the cephalopod of the expedition! Also a beautiful ctenophore (lampocteis?), and a lovely zoom on some zooanthids that have retracted and surrounded by marine snow. #AntarcticClimateConnections #MarineLife #SouthernOcean @schmidtocean.bsky.social

There is a purple octopus with large fins sitting on top of the sea floor

There is a purple octopus with large fins sitting on top of the rocky sea floor

Floating in the water column is a red gelatinous ctenophore that is oval-shaped. It has rows of rainbow ctenes running down its body

Several branches carrying dozens of zooanthids with her tentacles retracted. In front of dark water with little flex of marine snow floating through it

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

SOI saw so many of these Macroptychaster accrescens stars during this expedition. They are so cool looking and big! One was 60cm across. Looks like one of them might be eating. Dive 790. #AntarcticClimateConnections #MarineLife #SouthernOcean @schmidtocean.bsky.social

A large orange colored sea star with black bands on the top of each arm, sitting on a sandy sea floor.

A large orange colored sea star with black bands on the top of each arm, sitting on a sandy sea floor next to a ledge. A rock above it

Close up of one do the arms. Orange and textured with black band at the end

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

Last photos from dive 788. I love the glass sponges they have been seeing, so funky. Two different octopuses, not certain on their genus. And a crazy large nemertean worm next to an anemone. #AntarcticClimateConnections #MarineLife #SouthernOcean @schmidtocean.bsky.social

Dark brown sponge with bumpy surface and button hole shaped top opening. Sitting on Sandy sea floor

There is a sediment covered pink octopus facing forward with its arms curled behind its body on top of the sandy sea floor

In the center of the photo is a long whitish pink worm wrapped up kind of like a spaghetti noodle. Next to the base of an orange anemone with tentacles reaching up into the water column on top of a sediment covered rock

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

Dive 788 - got some nice shots while SuBastian were surrounded by Antarctic krill. Was so very cool to see. #AntarcticClimateConnections #MarineLife #SouthernOcean @schmidtocean.bsky.social

There are hundreds of small pink krill swimming around in front of a dark blue water background.

There are dozens of small pink krill swimming around in front of a dark blue water background.

There are small pink krill swimming around in front of a dark blue water background.

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

Some sightings from SOI dive 790. This pink anemone just pops! A cute little fish, some decorative looking brown glass sponges, and a large feather star crinoid with a great view of its cirri holding onto the sponge. #AntarcticClimateConnections #MarineLife #SouthernOcean @schmidtocean.bsky.social

A pink anemone coming up off of a sandy sea floor. There are tentacles radiating from the edges in the center is a very light pink color

Sitting on top of a sandy sea floor is a small pearlescent colored fish with small eyes

There are two barrel shaped brown glass sponges coming up off the sand C floor. These glass sponges have very bumpy textures

There is a vase shaped glass sponge coming up off of a rocky wall. On top of the top of the glass sponge is a feather star with its many legs grasping onto the sponge and it’s feather like arms extending out around the sponge into the water current

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

This glass sponge and ophiuroid observation was just so stunning with the color and backdrop! It is amazing to see such beauty so far down in an area with no natural light. #AntarcticClimateConnections #MarineLife #SouthernOcean @schmidtocean.bsky.social

There is a brown and tan glass sponge sitting on top of a sandy sea floor in front of a dark water background. The sponge is barrel shaped and has two brittle stars on it on the right hand side

A close-up on the rim of the barrel shaped glass sponge and you can see one of the brittle stars that is white and color sitting on the edge with its arms curling up

A close-up on the texture of the bottom of the sea sponge. It is a brown and white ingredient and very rough/bumpy in appearance

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Veronica @leapinlemurs83.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

MARUM Dive 111 off Milford Sound. That anatomy was actively catching shrimp, beautiful phromosoma (?) urchin, a fish (grenadier?) and some awesome looking stolonifera coral. #NewZealand #MarineLife @marumunibremen.bsky.social

An anemone on top of the sandy sea floor. Pink on the outside with the center and tentacles beckoning for white. Tentacles waving out into the current from a central point

A bright red urchin sitting on top of a sandy seafloor. You can see reddish spines and 2 feet extending out from the main body as well as bulbus membranous sacks coming up off the top

There is a gray and white striped fish with a triangle shaped dorsal fin swimming above a rocky sea floor

On top of a rocky projection are some white and purple coral polyps branching out into the current

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