The predatory tunicate (Megalodicopia hians) is a species of tunicate (see thesetwo previous posts) which lives anchored along the deep sea canyon walls and seafloor, waiting for tiny animals to drift or swim into its hood-shaped mouth. Looking something like a cross between a jellyfish and a Venus Flytrap (see this post), its mouthlike hood is quick to close when a small animal drifts inside. Once the predatory tunicate catches a meal, it keeps its trap shut until it is ready to eat again. They are known to live in the Monterey Canyon at depths of 200–1,000 metres (660–3,300 ft). They mostly eat zooplankton and tiny animals.
The googly-eyed glass squid(Teuthowenia pellucida) is a rare, slightly blue and transparent deep-sea squid. It gets its name from its disproportionately large eyes. It has eight short tentacles and one slightly longer pair. Its internal digestive organs and the females eggs can be visible through its transparent body. It is able to engorge itself with surrounding water to dramatically increase in size, portraying a more intimidating appearance to potential predators. Like most squid, it can also escape predators using jet propulsion. The cells of its eyes and tentacles form small light-emitting organs (bioluminescent photophores). This array of small lights is used to mask the true identity of the googly-eyed squid to others in the dark. For more on glass squid, see this post.
A photographer’s strobe gives a violet sheen to this translucent juvenile roundbelly cowfish(Lactoria diaphana) off the coast of Kona, Hawaii. The Roundbelly Cowfish has also been called the Diaphanous Box-fish, Diaphanous Cowfish, Thorny-back Cowfish, Translucent Boxfish, and Transparent Boxfish.The Roundbelly Cowfish has a pair of short horns in front of the eyes, a stout spine on the back, and a pair of spines near the anal fin. As its common name suggests, the belly region of the carapace is rounded. The species is yellowish to brown with dusky spots and blotches. Juveniles can be recognized by the almost transparent lower portion of the head and body. It has a pair of short horns in front of the eyes. The Roundbelly Cowfish occurs in tropical and some temperate waters of the Indo-West and Central Pacific and is typically about 30cm.
The vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis), looks like something that swam out of a late-night science fiction movie. But in spite of its monstrous name, its is a small creature, growing to only about 6 inches in length. The vampire squid is an ancient species and is a phylogenic relict, meaning that is is the only surviving member of the order Vampyromorphida. It is a unique member of the cephalopod family in that it shares similarities with both squid and octopuses. In fact, it was originally and mistakenly identified as an octopus by researchers in 1903.The vampire squid’s body is covered with light-producing organs called photophores. This gives the squid the unique ability to “turn itself on or off” at will through a chemical process known as bioluminescence. When the photophores are off, the squid is completely invisible in the dark waters where it lives. The squid has incredible control over these light organs. It has the ability to modulate the size and intensity of the photophores to create complex patterns that can be used to disorient predators and attract prey. Vampire squid are found throughout the deep oceans of the world in most tropical and temperate regions at depths of between 300 feet (about 90 meters) and 3,000 feet (over 900 meters).