To the eyes of a land mammal, the deep ocean is a strange place. The colors, shapes, movements, and animal behaviors are quite different.
With that in mind, the team of the Nautilus deep-sea submersible has a nice collection of videos and images on its website free for perusing. Here are some of the best videos — documenting the behavior of googly eyed stubby squid, other bobtail squid, flapjack octopus, dumbo octopus, vampire squid, and snail fish, amongst others — I came across:
First off is a googly eyed stubby squid, spotted at a depth of 2,950 feet off the coast of California. Despite the name, the stubby squid (Rossia Pacifica) is actually not a squid, but closer in relation to a cuttlefish. Amongst its behaviors include the hunting strategy of burrowing into the ground, eyes or eye poking out, to watch for shrimp or small fish passing by.
Next up we have another bobtail squid, which is as noted above with regard to the stubby squid, not actually a squid but more closely related to a cuttlefish. The species bioluminescent colors are partly the result of its symbiotic relationship with bioluminescent bacteria that live in the animal.
Next up we have this rather distinct looking pink octopus.
And then a flapjack octopus.
As well as somewhat distinct looking dumbo octopus (octopod). As the name implies, they look a bit like the flying elephants from the Disney cartoon Dumbo. Not much is really known about the type seen in the video. The umbrella posture is presumed to be a feeding hunting position of some kind.
The vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) is an interesting animal. (And a true squid unlike the stubby squid, bobtail squid.) This one was, fittingly, observed on an overnight dive.
And here’s a snail fish.
Quite a sight huh?