#deeprelaxocean

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Unwind for six minutes with stunning footage of graceful deep-sea skates and rays filmed by MBARI’s underwater robots. Skates and rays are fishes related to sharks. They have a distinct, flattened body, and they swim and glide using a pair of large, wing-like fins. While we know a lot about the skates and rays that dwell in shallow coastal waters, we know relatively little about those that call the ocean’s inky depths their home.

We often encounter skates resting on the sediment or skimming across the seafloor. Along with their expanded pectoral fins, some skates use their pelvic fins like legs to maneuver while hunting along the bottom or to propel themselves off the seafloor when danger approaches.

Our research is filling in the gaps in scientists’ baseline knowledge of rarely-seen deep-sea skate species. These data are especially important as climate change and overfishing continue to threaten biological communities. The more we learn about deep-sea sharks, skates, and rays, the better we can protect them and their habitats.

Learn more about deep-sea skates on our website.

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Not your average feather boa. 😮⁠ ⁠ 

This siphonophore, Erenna richardi, can be identified by the massive clusters of tentilla (the side branches of the tentacle) at the end of the tail (siphosome). In Monterey Bay, this species has been observed at average depths of about 1,100 meters (3,600 feet). 

These siphonophores are armed with a battery of powerful stinging tentacles, and researchers have seen them ensnaring fish just above the seafloor.⁠ ⁠ Historically, gelatinous animals have been challenging to study. Their delicate nature makes them difficult to collect, especially from the ocean’s depths. By using deep-diving robots—remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs—MBARI and our collaborators are revealing the dazzling diversity of delicate drifters that lies beneath the surface. Learn more about the glorious group of siphonophores on our website.

[mbari-blog]

Slow your scroll and take a swim with Stygiomedusa.

The giant phantom jelly, Stygiomedusa gigantea, was first collected in 1899. Since then, scientists have only encountered this animal about 100 times. It appears to have a worldwide distribution and has been recorded in all ocean basins except for the Arctic. The challenges of accessing its deep-water habitat contribute to the relative scarcity of sightings for such a large and broadly distributed species. Learn more on our website.

[mbari-blog]

Jelly-like siphonophores astound us with their breathtaking beauty

Siphonophores (pronounced “sigh-fawn-oh-fours”) are colonial creatures made up of specialized segments that work together as one. They may not be familiar to most, but they’re abundant animals in the ocean. In fact, siphonophores are some of the most important predators in ocean ecosystems. Scientists have described some 175 siphonophore species. Most follow a similar body plan—a gas-filled float provides buoyancy, swimming bells propel the colony, and a central stem bears specialized parts for feeding, defense, and reproduction.

Most of what we know about siphonophores comes from the broken bits and pieces of animals naturalists collected 200 years ago. Robotic submersibles are enabling researchers at MBARI the opportunity to observe these spectacular species in their natural habitat. Siphonophores and their more distant relatives, jellies and comb jellies, thrive in this world without physical boundaries. Back in the lab, we’re working to understand aspects of their biology in greater detail—from how they build their bodies to how they produce their stunning luminescence.

In 34 years of deep-sea exploration, we’ve still just barely scratched the surface in understanding life in the largest living space on Earth. Each dive into the inky depths reveals something new and unexpected. Learn more about these delicate drifters and other amazing animals of the deep on our website.

[mbari-blog]

Take a meditative moment and gaze into the eyes of the deep-sea rattail fish 👀🧘🏽‍♂️ 

Rattails, or macrourids, are common throughout the world’s ocean. They are characterized by a distinctive large head and whip-like tail that tapers to a point. Big blue eyes give the rattail an edge at finding food in deep dark waters. Their keen eyesight reveals prey, like fishes and squid, darting just above the seafloor. 

 There are over 1,000 species of rattails found worldwide, although MBARI has recorded less than 20 species during our numerous expeditions. Macrourid species are difficult to distinguish on video, so researchers often use species complexes to describe similarly-looking species. MBARI’s Video Annotation and Reference System (VARS), a software system for documenting deep-sea observations, is used to annotate all video recorded with our remotely operated vehicles. As of 2022, the VARS database contains more than eight million video annotations and includes thousands of deep-sea species. 

MBARI’s remotely operated vehicles continue to reveal astonishing animals, habitats, and behaviors. Building a baseline understanding of the deep sea is critical for determining how climate change, pollution, and mining will affect the largest living space on Earth. Watch the full video on our YouTube channel.

[mbari-blog]

Here it is, your #MolluskMonday moment of zen. 🦑🧘🏽

This swordtail squid, Chiroteuthis calyx, is relatively common in the Monterey Bay between 300 and 600 meters (984 and 1,968 feet), but individuals have been observed at depths up to 1,000 meters (3,280 feet). In this video, you can see the animal pulling in its fishing tentacles. Squid typically have eight arms and two feeding tentacles, but adults of the species develop these long feeding tentacles tipped with glowing lures used to attract crustaceans or small fish. Once the prey is close enough, they seize the animal with their arms or tentacles.