MBARI

@mbarinews.bsky.social

An oceanographic research institute focused on advancing marine science and engineering to understand our changing ocean

@mbarinews.bsky.social

No need to insult Homer’s grammar over a perfectly good plural! The word octopus comes from the Greek oktōpous, meaning “eight-footed,” and entered English through Latinized scientific terminology. Since octopus is fully established in English, the standard plural octopuses is perfectly correct. 🐙

@mbarinews.bsky.social

Arms up if you love octopuses! 🐙🙋 #WorldOctopusDay⁠
⁠
Deep-sea organisms use a variety of ways to swim. Most cephalopods, like this gliding Benthoctopus sp., have the ability to move by jet propulsion. This one was observed pulsing its arms and jetting gracefully through the water.

@mbarinews.bsky.social

That moment when you spot a deep-sea cutie 😍⁠ ⁠ Deep-sea hatchetfishes in the family Sternoptychidae cleverly camouflage themselves in the dark depths of the ocean with light-producing organs along their bellies. This counterillumination allows them to hide from predators that may be lurking below.

@mbarinews.bsky.social

A neighborly sort of coral 🪸💕⁠ ⁠ The mushroom soft coral (Heteropolypus ritteri) is one of the most common animals we see in the depths off the central coast of California. They are abundant on the jagged walls of Monterey Canyon and the rocky slopes of local seamounts.

@mbarinews.bsky.social

This little shrimp has mastered the art of disappearing in the deep 😶‍🌫️⁠ ⁠ Physetocaris microphthalma can hide in plain sight. A transparent body with splashes of red is clever camouflage—red wavelengths disappear in these black waters, leaving this shrimp nearly invisible to predators.⁠

@mbarinews.bsky.social

We're not really sure! That's why deep-sea research is so important. We need to learn more about these habitats, how human impacts affect them, and how those impacts affect the organisms living on the deep seafloor.

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