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EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP SCIENTISTS AT THE SCHMIDT OCEAN INSTITUTE HAVE FOOTAGE OF A LIVE COLOSSAL SQUID FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

🦑‼️🦑‼️🦑‼️🦑‼️🦑‼️🦑

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Squat lobsters don't shake hands, squat lobsters gotta hug 🤗⁠

Squat lobsters are found throughout the world's ocean, from sea surface to the deep sea. Though they aren't actually lobsters, they resemble true lobsters in some ways; instead, they have a short, flattened carapace (upper shell that covers the main body). This one, Munida quadraspina, was observed with ROV Tiburon 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) deep in the Monterey Canyon. Squat lobsters use a variety of feeding mechanisms—some species filter feed, others eat detritus, graze on algae, and some scavenge or eat small prey on the seafloor. Sometimes we see dense aggregations of them on the seafloor.

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Planktonic Larvae of Sessile Marine Animals

The ocean is in constant motion, but some of its inhabitants have found a niche by remaining anchored in place. Animals as diverse as corals, sea anemones, oysters, giant clams, and barnacles simply fix themselves in the drive-thru of ocean currents, snapping up tasty food particles and plankton as they flow past. While that’s fine for fast food, you might wonder how animals that can’t move manage to spread across the globe! The answer lies in their ingenious reproductive strategies. Many sessile animals release planktonic larvae into the water—like the sea anemone larvae you see here. In a fleeting moment of freedom before they settle permanently, larvae ride the ocean currents in search of new habitats where they can anchor, grow, and continue the cycle of life.

photographs by by Jialing Cai | Homoplankton

via: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) 

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We’re gonna talk about hagfish today, since it is Their Day

Hagfish are vertebrates, but they have no vertebrae! They lack bones entirely, with just a cartilaginous skull and a notochord (making them the only animal with a skull and no spine). They also have no eyes and no jaw. They also like to cuddle.

Exactly where they fall on the tree of life has been an interesting topic. Historically, they were placed as the sister-group to vertebrates; the vertebrate that diverged the earliest, and remained very primitive-looking. However, with new fossil evidence and DNA analysis, we’ve figured out that they are closest related to the lamprey, another jawless fish that does have eyes and bones! Which means the ancestors of the hagfish did as well, but somewhere along the line they decided, “screw it, I’m going back to being a Worm”.

The hagfish spends most of its time at the bottom of the ocean, sniffing around for prey. Although they do actively hunt and catch their own food, it’s much easier to eat things that are already dead, so they’re frequently seen snootling around whalefalls and bait set out by scientists, where they feed by rapidly spinning around until they’ve bored a hole straight through the skin and can get to the tasty insides!

But wait, how does a jawless animal feed at all? It just has a little :O face with no teeth!

Well, great news! That cute little :O isn’t it’s mouth! That’s it’s nose! It’s mouth is underneath.

Ain’t that nifty?

Being a squishy little guy with no teeth or eyes, defending itself is kind of difficult. Luckily, no one wants to eat a hagfish, because they are gross af. They secrete a very thick slime that chokes predators. About 4% of a hagfish’s body mass is pure slime. This slime is also apparently useful to humans, because it contains strands that are stronger than nylon, offering a way to make more durable and environmentally friendly fabric!

In summary,

Happy hagfish day!!

oooOOOOUUUGHGGGGH

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invertober day 12, japanese spider crab. more of a quickie today, but i think its cute

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Meet Red X, an animal so new to science that it doesn’t have an official name!

We’ve collected these captivating comb jellies in Monterey Bay alongside our research partners at @mbari-blog. Together, we’re learning more about them—and the deep sea—every day!

You can see Red X today in our Into the Deep/En lo Profundo exhibit!

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in 2017 a truck full of hagfish spilled on a highway and made a big mess.

...here's a punk/math rock song about it??? lyrics beneath the cut

lyrics:

I am covered in slime

Don’t you even try to get close to me now

I’ve been here a long time

And I’m going to tie myself up to break out

No eyes no bones no spine

Don’t know where to draw the line

Dead whale it’s dinner time

I’m breaking out from the inside

When the truck falls down 

slime will coat

Your Toyota Prius

The slime will flow

Don’t you wanna be us?

When the truck falls down 

slime will coat

The adjoining highway

The slime will flow

Can’t you see it my way?

I am covered in slime

Don’t you even try to get close to me now

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undersea animals when a whale dies

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me: man my job sucks i want to play video games or somethin

the nefarious anglerfish:

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🌊🚢Embark on a  journey with us aboard the research vessel Rachel Carson as we explore the mysteries of the deep sea with MBARI.

Watch an ROV, remotely operated vehicle, in action as it uncovers secrets of the seafloor and aids in groundbreaking research. 

From high-tech robots to delightful discoveries, sea how we're advancing our knowledge and protecting the planet's largest habitat.

Thanks @mbari-blog for letting us tag along and for the deep-sea footage.

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i love my fans 💚

(for context anon (blank account) is trying to figure out how to misgender me)

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Queen Anglerfish Theme (another underwater synth track made entirely with a Moog Grandmother)

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undersea animals when a whale dies

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GIVE IT UP FOR WHALE FALL WEDNESDAY

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Cephalopod Week wouldn't be complete without at least one flapjack octopus video! 🥰

MBARI’s robotic submersibles often spot this little octopus resting on the mud, its orange body resembling a flat, fluffy pancake. When startled by a predator, a flapjack octopus perks up and swims to safety by flapping its stubby fins, pulsing its webbed arms, pushing water through its funnel for jet propulsion—or all three at once. When the coast is clear, it stretches its webbed arms and parachutes back to the seafloor.

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Today is Wet Beast Wednesday!

Today’s wet beast is: Tan Bristlemouth

Olive’s Wet Beast Fact: these zombie-looking deep sea fish are one of the most abundant species on Earth, with estimates that there are up to a quadrillion individuals. This would make them the most abundant vertebrate on the planet.

Stay tuned for more Wet Beast Wednesdays!

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Things you should give your mom for Mother’s Day—fancy jewelry, a bouquet of her favorite flowers, a nicely scented candle.⁠ ⁠ Things you shouldn’t give your mom for Mother’s Day—balloons that might end up in the ocean, expired cheese, that candle you got for Christmas from your aunt last year that's been sitting at the back of your closet until now. ⁠ As we celebrate the holiday, let’s reduce our reliance on single-use plastics (like balloons) and keep trash out of the ocean.⁠

Learn more about trash in the deep sea on our website.