Deep Sea Fauna... with Googly Eyes

Pocket Shark!

Say hello to the rarest shark in the ocean; only 2 specimens have ever been found!

David Shiffman has spent his life saving sharks. Isn't it time he did so in style?

In case you didn’t know, we’re running a crowdfunding campaign to Buy shark conservation legend David Shiffman a less ugly pair of sunglasses (and also to support some amazing shark conservation programs. So head on over to our Indiegogo page, where you can find some excellent perks, like 3D printed megalodon teeth! 

Do it for the Sharks!

Our garbage precedes us. Ever in the deepest oceans, where humans have never tread, we still find trash.  Sad ROV manipulator is sad. 

This basking shark is unamused by the divers antics. Un. Amused. 

Learn more about Basking Sharks in Sizing ocean giants: patterns of intraspecific size variation in marine megafauna

Tridacna gigas is a clam. A fine clam. A glorious clam. A giant clam. 

And you can learn all about this magnificent specimen in Sizing ocean giants: patterns of intraspecific size variation in marine megafauna.

Big enough to boggle the mind, but just how big can a Japanese spider crab get? Find out in Sizing Ocean Giants!

I can just imagine the conversation between these two Sperm Whales.

Whale 1: Hey man, you like squid.

Whale 2: Yeah, squid's alright.

Whale 1: That's cool. Me too, dude, me too.

Conclusion, sperm whales would be boring on twitter. 

But real sperm whales are anything but boring. Find out more in my newest paper: Sizing ocean giants: patterns of intraspecific size variation in marine megafauna.

What's the best way to kick off the monumental publication of our Sizing Ocean Giants monograph? Why, with googly-eyed ocean giants, of course!

Check out the open-access paper: Sizing ocean giants: patterns of intraspecific size variation in marine megafauna

Then come back to enjoy a week of giant ocean fauna... with googly eyes. And yes, that is a giant isopod in a jar. Learn more about them here: Six things I learned about Giant Isopods while Sizing Ocean Giants

No googly eyes on this Cool Fish.  Do you have a Melanocetus johnsonii puppet? Because I have a Melanocetus johnsonii puppet. 

Munidopsis serricornis, ready for action. 

This unknown species of Munidopsis looks a bit concerned. 

We gave some eyes to Munidopsis polymorpha, the blind albino squat lobster. 

Ifremeria nautilei and friends in the western Pacific. Image from Marum.

Last week, I published my last research exploring the communities that live around hydrothermal vents in the Western Pacific. Check the succinctly named Comparative Population Structure of Two Deep-Sea Hydrothermal-Vent-Associated Decapods (Chorocaris sp. 2 and Munidopsis lauensis) from Southwestern Pacific Back-Arc Basins! If that's a bit too dense for you, check out the summary over at my other blog: 

Beyond the Edge of the Plume: understanding environmental impacts of deep-sea mining

And learn about the incredible, delicate creatures that thrive at one of the planet's most bizarre ecosystems.