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Near shore deep water wildlife has always been interesting to me. Often, the organisms that exploit the habitat live in deep water by day and migrate to shallower water under the cover of darkness to pursue prey items. Some of the species that you see here live along deep reefs or the walls of steeply sloping terrain that lead down to abyssal depths. Species like the Chambered Nautilus spend their days as deep as 610m (~2000 feet) and then make the migration to hunt in shallow waters at night. I’ve been fortunate to have been able to see some of these amazing creatures live and to photograph them. I can’t thank enough the people that have made these opportunities reality. I’d like to thank Osamu Inamura, the Uozo Aquarium, Sunpet Inc., and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute for the opportunities that I’ve had.
- The Chambered Nautilus (Nautilus pompilius) is a cephalopod, related to squid, octopi, and cuttlefish, ranging through the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans. Individuals live in deep water by day (down to 610m/2000 feet depth). At night, they swim up to shallow water to feed. Some Nautilus species have up to 90 tentacles. Nautilus can adjust the direction they travel by changing the orientation of a structure called the siphon. They use jet propulsion to move, pumping water out of their siphon. Adult Nautilus pompilius can grow to about 20cm (~8 inches) in length. The shell of Nautilus pompilius is filled with gasses and liquids; the animal’s body is accommodated only within the outer most chamber. The nautilus can move liquids into and out of the chambers to regulate buoyancy. The liquids move between chambers through tube-like connections called siphuncles. Nautilus pompilius are little changed over the last 150 million years and have extinct relatives that date back as far as 450 to 500 million years. Nautilus pompilius is threatened owing to over harvest for the shell trade. This individual was photographed in December of 2009.
Nautilus have poor eyesight. They rely on smell and touch to hunt and find mates.
In contrast to other cephalopods, Nautilus don't have suction cups on their tentacles.
I've been lucky to see live Bobtail Squid (Rossia pacifica) off of the coasts of Japan and California. This is another deep water cephalopod.
Dumbo Octopi have interesting flaps on their "heads" that they use for locomotion. This is a species tentatively assigned to the genus Grimpoteuthis from the Monterey Bay Trench.
When feeling threatened, some Dumbo Octopods invert their bodies in this defensive pose.
Pristigenys alta, the Short Bigeye, typically lives along deep reefs in water up to 200m (656 feet) deep. The fish are tropical and subtropical ranging through the Caribbean north along the Atlantic coast of North America.
The deep reef dwelling Pristigenys alta, the Short Bigeye.
The Scalloped Ribbonfish (Zu cristatus) is a deep water marine fish that feeds on small fish and squid. It swims in the water column with its head upward pointing. They can grow to roughly 118 cm total length (~3.9 feet). This is a young individual photographed in the Sea of Japan (2007).
The Longfin Snipefish (Macroramphosus scolopax) feeds on copepods and other mesopelagic invertebrates in its juvenile state. Adults feed on benthic invertebrates. They are encountered between 25 and 600 meters depth (82 and 1968 feet). This individual was photographed in the Sea of Japan (2007) Courtesy of the Uozo Aquarium.
The Red Batfish (Halieutaea stellata) is found to 400 meters depth (~1312 feet). Batfish have a modified dorsal fin ray called an illicium protruding from their heads at the end of which is a fleshy lure, called an esca. The esca is used to attract prey. A special space in their face to accommodate the lure is called the illicial cavity. This individual was photographed in the Sea of Japan (2007). Courtesy of the Uozo Aquarium.
The Fathead (Malacocottus gibber) lives at depths that can excede 1000m (~3280 feet). Courtesy of the Uozo Aquarium.
January 19th, 2010 at 11:19 pm
Dante:
Once again I get to vicariously experience through your beautiful photographs so many of the creatures I have only read about, never really believing that I would be so fortunate to actually see them! Thanks a million for your posts of the truly exceptional pictures! You are a singular talent my man. Please keep up your important work and continued good luck with your travels and photography. Stay safe my friend!
February 9th, 2010 at 11:37 pm
Henry,
Thank so much! I love what I do and I enjoy photography. This blog has been a lot of fun.
Cheers & Thanks
April 8th, 2010 at 4:18 am
The first time I visited this blog, I can say: this blog rocks! Your writting is so inspiring. Thanks for sharing all here. My suggestion is: try to optimize your blog, so more people will come and enjoy your photographs. They will get the same benefits as me and they will thank for it.
Thank you.
May 22nd, 2010 at 11:50 am
Thanks Natalie. Aside from offering up the images I take for folks to enjoy, I’m not sure what else I can do.