Cool Animal Alert!

Hi all-  Heather J. here reporting on an awesome animal we collected this morning in the nets!

Me opening the collection jar spotting the Jeweled Squid!

This is a deep-water squid, Stigmatoteuthis arcturi, one of the strawberry squids who live in the mesopelagic zone between 200-1000 m.  Our nets are designed to catch smaller sized individuals, usually larvae, juvenile, and small-sized adult animals so when a squid this large comes up, it's time for celebration!

Check out it's eyes-  they are different in size and oriented in different directions; the left eye is large, semi-tubular and points upwards while the right eye is smaller and not tube-shaped. The left eye is believed to detect animals higher in the water column, silhouetted against the sky, while the right eye detects animals in front of and below the squid.  So cool!

We will post more fun finds as we cruise along!