Googly eyed stubby squid....

[missy]

Oh he/she is adorable!

http://www.sciencealert.com/biologists-just-spotted-the-cutest-stubby-squid-ever-in-the-deep-sea

You know what's almost as good as finding a bright magenta, googly-eyed stubby squid just chilling by itself 900 metres deep in the ocean? Listening to a bunch of biologists lose it over the fact that they'd just stumbled on something that legit looks like a cartoon. If this doesn't make you want to be a marine biologist, nothing will.


The bright-eyed critter was spotted by underwater rovers attached to the research vessel, E/V Nautilus, off the coast of California, and after some debate, biologists watching from the surface identified it as some kind of cuttlefish.

It's been since identified as the stubby squid (Rossia pacifica) - a particularly rare sight in the wild.

Interestingly, you might think the biologists got it wrong when they said it's definitely a cuttlefish, but despite their name, and the fact that they belong to the bobtail squid order of cephalopods, these creatures are more closely related to cuttlefish than they are to squid or octopuses.

Also known as dumpling squid, bobtail squid have a rounder mantle (or body) than cuttlefish, and no cuttlebone, which is like hard, brittle internal shell. They have the same number of tentacles as a squid, though - eight with suckers, plus two long arms for grabbing prey.

The beautiful colours of bobtail squid, which you really should just Google, because look, are partly to do with the bioluminescent bacteria that take up residence in their mantle.

As the stubby squid in the footage above is demonstrating so charismatically, these guys spend most of their lives on the seafloor. When they don't feel like being out in the open so much, they produce a sticky mucus 'jacket' and burrow into the sediment to camouflage themselves, leaving only their giant eyes poking out of the sand to spot prey.


Their range is quite extensive - they've been found in the Northern Pacific Ocean from Japan to Southern California, with researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) spotting the deepest one at 1,300 metres down (4,260 ft). Some have also been spotted as far up as 300 metre (984 feet).

If you were hoping to see this stubby squid get up and move around, sorry to disappoint, but we have another bobtail squid of a different species, spotted by the E/V Nautilus team back in 2014. And this one demonstrates both the hiding, and fleeing behaviours:



Find out more about the E/V Nautilus's ongoing research mission at their website, which has an awesome live feed that you should really just leave on at work. Because you don't want to miss out on stuff like this purple alien blob... thing that they found just last month, right?

 

[the_mother_thing]

If ever there was an 'adorable' squid, I'd agree, that is it right there! Looks like something you might see modeled after to make a plush kids stuffed toy.

 

[arkieb1]

Matata started a post on him the other day;

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/spongebob-squarepants-is-not-the-cutest-thing-in-the-sea.224855/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/spongebob-squarepants-is-not-the-cutest-thing-in-the-sea.224855/[/URL]

He is so cute he almost looks like a children's toy or something you would see in a kids movie rather than a real animal....
It's those eyes

 

[missy]

Oops sorry about that arkieb. Missed that thread. But since he/she's so cute no harm done right? I just want to reach out and kiss him.
I know JoCoJenn. He does look like an adorable plush stuffed toy.

 

[AdaBeta27]

Now, that thing is just weird. Kind of makes me worried about just how many other imaginary cartoon and sci-fi beasts actually might exist, and not just as part of some ancient collective memory woven into our DNA, either.

 

[azstonie]

I love this squiddy little guy!!!

 

[missy]

Some more ocean life and a bit more on the sweet purple squid. He looks like a sweet baby.
Sea life is so beautiful.

https://www.instagram.com/nautiluslive/?hl=en

Cool website:
http://www.nautiluslive.org

The team spotted this Stubby Squid off the coast of California at a depth of 900 meters (2,950 feet). The stubby squid (Rossia pacifica) looks like a cross between an octopus and squid, but is more closely related to cuttlefish. This species spends life on the seafloor, activating a sticky mucus jacket and burrowing into the sediment to camouflage, leaving their eyes poking out to spot prey like shrimp and small fish. Rossia pacifica is found in the Northern Pacific from Japan to Southern California up to 300m, but in addition to our sighting, researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) have spotted them at depths of 1,300 m (4,260 ft).

E/V Nautilus is exploring the ocean studying biology, geology, archeology, and more.

And here's a cute bobtail squid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I868XcVXtA&feature=youtu.be

Finally some more beautiful sea life here.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/animals/g210/strange-sea-animals-2/

Ada haha right. I wonder.

 

[PintoBean]

I was thinking to myself, just yesterday, that my cabs in jackets look like googly eyes staring at me from the box. Well, apparently they're stubby squid googly eyes!!!

 

[missy]

I was thinking to myself, just yesterday, that my cabs in jackets look like googly eyes staring at me from the box. Well, apparently they're stubby squid googly eyes!!!

LOL I think your new cab earrings are gorgeous. And yes they do resemble the stubby squid's googly eyes but only in the best way. Love your new earrings.

 

[jordyonbass]

The deep blue never ceases to amaze me with it's various types of life!! And I've seen plenty of it!!

 

[Rockinruby]

Oh my goodness! He is the cutest little fellow! I enjoyed reading about this and the additional pics of other sea creatures. Thank you for sharing!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

I took the opportunity to look at all the other videos posted on the site. What a fun site--and they do cool stuff.

Of course the stubby squid was the best!! Who knew??

cheers--Sharon