(by alann_bgt)

New Year, New Creatures of the Deep 🌊

Stygiomedusa gigantea, the giant phantom jelly

Just look at her go, Stygiomedusa you gorgeous dramatic girl

Though spotting these ghostly giants is rare, they are known to live in the midnight (bathypelagic) zone. There is little to no shelter in this area and other fish have been observed taking refuge amid the jellies long voluminous ribbon like tentacles, that can get up to 33 feet long

Love to sea it 🌊

Daily fish fact #360

Glasshead barreleye!

This deep sea fish has essentially two pairs of eyes! Along with its main pair of eyes, it has two round, light-collecting mirror organs on the sides of its head which even have a kind of retina! With its four eyes, the fish can see shadows from above and bioluminescence from sides and below!

Vessel sound is temporarily causing hearing loss in squids

Globally, anthropogenic sounds have become louder and more persistent, however, little is known about how invertebrates detect and respond to human-made sound. Now, new research shown noise associated with boats causes  causes temporal hearing loss in squids across different stages of their life cycle.

The hummingbird bobtail squid (Euprymna berryi) has a short lifespan of at least 6 months, which make them a convenient animal for lab studies. Hearing and behavioural observations were made by researchers before, during and after 15 minutes of vessel sound playback, to test how these squids react to noise pollution, and noted that these squids decrease their hearing sensitivity after exposure to noise, and particularly noise affected juveniles. Juvenile squids experienced an important hearing loss sensitivity after noise exposure between 400 and 800 Hz, while adult and mature squids decreased their sensibility after 200 to 600 Hz exposure, showing more resistence. All squids recovered auditory sensitivity within two hours.

Researchers aim the inclusion of cephalopods within management and policy, because anthropogenic activities and associated sound levels in the ocean are increasing, while the role sound plays in cephalopod life history is only just beginning to be understood.

Photo by Pascal Girard

Reference ()  Putland et al. 2023. Vessel sound causes hearing loss for hummingbird bobtail squid (Euprymna berryi). Frontiers in Marine Science 

“ queen Emma “ // taylor parent

Music:  Journey, Steve Perry - Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) (Bryce Miller/Alloy Tracks Remix)

Mauritian Sunset - Sandy Smith, 2006

From: Istoria e dimostrazioni intorno alle macchie solari e loro accidenti comprese in tre lettere scritte all'illvstrissimo signor Marco Velseri … dal signor Galileo Galilei … Si aggiungono nel fine le lettere, e disquisizioni del finto Apelle, Giacomo Mascardi, Roma, 1613 [Yale University Library, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, New Haven, CT]

photography by nicolaslenatti