Greetings!

The past few days have been absolutely beautiful and the water has been so calm that it looks like glass. Yesterday after breakfast we went outside for our morning ocean air and observed a waterspout form, grow larger, and then dissipate. The sunset last night was amazing as well, with bright magenta hues accompanied by schools of flyingfish everywhere. We have been so fortunate with the weather this week. The samples the past few days have also brought in some really awesome specimens including a fangtooth or "ogrefish" and several dragonfish. 

The fangtooth, Anoplogaster cornuta, is one of the coolest fish I have seen. At first glance you can't help but notice its large fang-like teeth and its armored body and you just know that this fish has to be one of the biggest predators in the deep. The two large fangs on the lower jaw are so long that it has a pair of opposing sockets on either side of the brain to accommodate the large teeth. Its body feels rough, almost like sandpaper, whereas the other deep sea fishes feel a bit more slimy and smooth. This fish is not like any other that we have seen thus far on the trip! Truly an incredible find! 

We also had a few dragonfish swim into our nets, Photostomias guernei and Echiostoma barbatum. The dragonfish also have fang-like teeth which allows them to grab onto their prey more efficiently. They are also covered with gorgeous photophores such as the one below.

Echiostoma barbatum                                                                                      Check out that beautiful photophore!

Photostomias guernei

We are all really enjoying ourselves and having tons of fun! Although we miss our families very much, we talk about you all the time! Much love from the R.V. Point Sur.  Thank you so much for reading!

Your Teacher at Sea,

Alisha Stahl

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Happy Thursday from the middle of the Gulf!

Phronima, a deep sea hyperiid amphipod, is a type of crustacean that looks like an alien! We have been pulling these little creatures up in the nets the past few days and they are quite intriguing looking. I can’t help but think of my son Noah and how excited he would be to see one of these, I’m pretty sure he would be mesmerized! It’s amusing how the inner child comes out in all of us when we bring in the nets and look over the samples; it’s like Christmas morning!

 Phronima is considered an ambush predator with really large claws in relation to its body size. It uses large claws to tear apart its prey and its tiny mouth to shred. This organism likes to maintain its secrecy in the deep sea by hiding inside a semi-hard gelatinous barrel. This barrel seems to serve as its habitat and protection from others by camouflaging itself. The amphipod feeds on organisms such as salps (gelatinous zooplankton), jellies, and siphonophores, but it doesn’t just eat them. Some sources say that the Phronima reuses the gelatinous material from its prey and builds a barrel. Somehow the amphipod harvests some of the living cells from its prey and builds the structure.

So why would an animal do this is? What is the benefit?  The barrel could possibly provide protection by allowing the animal to flawlessly blend in. If a predator attacks it will first come into contact with the barrel, not the amphipod, increasing its chances of survival. Energy efficiency could be another possible benefit. The barrel may allow this organism to maintain buoyancy, which could allow the amphipod to travel farther, and in turn be exposed to a variety of food sources in the water column. There is some research that suggests that their barrel behavior may be a type of symbiosis as well.  

Another cool feature on these amphipods is their enormous compound eyes. There is recent research that in the species Paraphronima gracilis, their compound eyes have 32 retinas, 16 in each eye, which scientists have never seen in any other arthropod species before, the function is still unknown.  This could be an evolutionary adaptation as a response to living in the deep sea. You can read more about it at the link below.

http://smithsonianscience.si.edu/2015/01/bizarre-ocean-amphipod-has-16-retinas-in-each-of-its-very-big-eyes/

There are many more cool stories to tell about the amazing creatures we are finding! Keep checking back for more!

Crazy weather this morning....this right next to the ship.

The life and death of a waterspout.

Although the weather was crazy it didn't' stop us from pulling up some really cool animals like this larval shrimp.

And this Dragonfish (Photostomias guernei).

And this Joubin's squid (Joubiniteuthis portieri)

A fish I have wanted to see for years (Inops murrayi). This deep water species is usually found between 1,460m and 3,500m. This is a juvenile we caught in the water column. Instead of functional eyes, what remains of photoreceptive tissue lies beneath bone in this species. The "eyes" have no lenses but can detect light.

We also captured a beautiful shrimp today. She is "in berry" or brooding eggs beneath her tail. The inset to the top left depicts the eggs beneath her tail. I am holding her to show size.