Wednesday Zen Moment: Googly-eyed squid charms scientists on E/V Nautilus

The E/V Nautilus team explore the ocean studying biology, geology, archeology and more to see what can be seen.

And sometimes what they see is watching them back.

The team spotted this Stubby Squid off the coast of California at a depth of 900 meters (2,950 feet).

The stubby squid (Rossia pacifica) looks like a cross between an octopus and squid, but is more closely related to cuttlefish.

This species spends life on the seafloor, activating a sticky mucus jacket and burrowing into the sediment to camouflage, leaving their eyes poking out to spot prey like shrimp and small fish.

Rossia pacifica is found in the Northern Pacific from Japan to Southern California up to 300m, but in addition to our sighting, researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) have spotted them at depths of 1,300 m (4,260 ft).

The scientists reaction is pure delight when they first see from a distance the Stubby Squid. A chorus of ooohhs, ahhhh are heard when the squid is seen. Using the very scientific terms, one of the scientists says:

He has weird eyes!

As the camera zooms in, one scientist implores the camera operator not to change the angle while another voice chimes in to stay close to the critter. One scientist says it looks like a toy dropped into the ocean.

The dialogue in the background is hilarious. One suggests maybe the critter has an eye problem and another laughs that the marine mammal looks totally fake.

You never know what you’ll find when E/V Nautilus is cruising the ocean floor. Earlier this year, scientists spotted a pouty sad-looking fish.

For live dive updates follow E/V Nautilus along on social media on Facebook  and Twitter . For more photos from our dives, check out our Instagram @nautiluslive.

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Peg Fong is also in recovery from newspapers

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