#mbari

Eye spy some incredible adaptations 👀

Hyperiid amphipods are a small but anatomically diverse group of shrimp-like crustaceans with remarkable adaptations for life in the ocean’s twilight zone.

A team of researchers from MBARI, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, GEOMAR, the University of Western Australia, and the Florida Museum of Natural History leveraged 30 years of video observations from MBARI’s robotic submersibles to study the evolution of eye complexity in hyperiid amphipods. The team recently published their findings in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 📸: Karen J. Osborn/Smithsonian Institution

Hyperiid amphipods are abundant in the midwater environment. Recognizing the true abundance of free-swimming, predatory species requires scientists to reconsider the ecological role of hyperiids in midwater communities. This innovative research underscores the value of direct observations for uncovering evolutionary and ecological processes in the largest living space on Earth. 📸: Karen J. Osborn/Smithsonian Institution

An expert hunter with a sensational smile ✨ 🦷💙

Pacific viperfish (Chauliodus macouni) may look intimidating, but those dramatic teeth are perfectly suited for life in the deep sea. They are among the countless marine animals that migrate each night from the ocean’s depths towards shallower surface waters to dine on small fishes and shrimp before returning to the depths.

Their long, needle-like teeth help them grip slippery prey, while their hinged jaws open wide enough to catch a meal that might otherwise escape. A row of tiny light-producing organs along their belly also helps them blend into the faint light filtering down from above, making them harder for predators and prey to spot.

Just a pink poof looking for snacks 💕

A little deep-sea sparkle ✨

Bloody-belly comb jellies are ctenophores. Like other comb jellies, they swim by beating rows of tiny, hair-like cilia. The shimmering display in this video isn't bioluminescence—it's light from MBARI's ROV diffracting through those transparent cilia, creating a dazzling rainbow effect.

Taking dinner to go 🕷️🍴⁠

Like spiders on land, sea spiders—also known as pycnogonids—come in a range of sizes and appearances. They’re widespread and occur across a variety of ocean environments. The deep sea is home to the giant sea spider (Colossendeis sp.), which can grow larger than a dinner plate. This spindly spider lumbers along the seafloor on jointed, stilt-like legs.⁠ Instead of spinning a delicate web of silk to trap prey, giant sea spiders use an elongate, tube-like proboscis to slurp up their meals. This sea spider was observed clipping off a couple of tentacles from a pom-pom anemone (Liponema brevicorne) and carrying their prize across the seafloor.

Drift into the deep with these living fossils. 🌊

Feather stars and sea lilies are part of an ancient group of echinoderms known as crinoids. They are distant relatives of the sea stars and sea urchins that you might find in coastal tide pools. Feather stars cling to sponges, corals, and rocks with claw-like cirri, while stalked sea lilies anchor to the seafloor with a holdfast. 

For a hungry crinoid, the currents deliver dinner. Both feather stars and sea lilies have a crown of finely plumed arms. Those arms and their jointed branches are covered in tiny tube feet that help scuttle food into the central mouth.

MBARI’s remotely operated vehicles have captured the slow, mesmerizing movements of sea lilies swaying in the currents and feather stars paddling to fresh feeding grounds. We’ve spotted a wide variety of different crinoids, but identifying individual species from video alone is often difficult.

A precious poof in a sea of snow ❄️🧡🌊

Proof that there's more than one way to squid 🦑⁠