Deep-sea sighting: The strawberry squid’s mismatched eyes are the perfect pair
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During a recent deep-sea dive, our team came across one of the most remarkable residents of the ocean’s twilight zone: the strawberry squid (Histioteuthis heteropsis). MBARI’s remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Doc Ricketts spotted this crimson cephalopod 725 meters (2,378 feet) deep in Monterey Canyon. The stunning ultra high-definition resolution 4K video from the ROV Doc Ricketts allows researchers to examine deep-sea denizens in astonishing detail.
The strawberry squid has one big eye and one small eye. Together, this unlikely pair helps the squid hunt for food in the ocean’s twilight zone. The big left eye looks upward to spot shadows cast by prey in the dimly lit waters above. The eye’s tubular shape helps collect as much downwelling light as possible. Often, this eye has a yellow lens to see through the luminescent camouflage of its prey. The squid’s right eye is small and looks downward. This eye searches for flashes of bioluminescence produced by prey or predators lurking in the darker waters below. This squid is sometimes called the cockeyed squid for the remarkable difference in size between the two eyes.
