Life in the Abyss
The creatures of the midnight zone — anglerfish, giant and colossal squid, gulper eels, vampire squid and the bizarre bestiary revealed by deep-sea cameras.
Part of Deep-Sea Exploration
58 moments in this segment.
- — Deep-sea anglerfish. A prickly anglerfish specimen — the lantern-luring predator of the midnight zone.
- — The gulper (pelican) eel. Eurypharynx pelecanoides, all mouth and whip-tail — one of the strange predators of the deep.
- — The anglerfish: fishing in the dark. MBARI on the anglerfish and its glowing lure — the classic predator of the deep.
- — Elusive black seadevil, up close. One of the first video observations of a living deep-sea anglerfish.
- — Rare sperm whale encounter with an ROV. A sperm whale investigates the EV Nautilus ROV in the deep.
- — The dumbo octopus. Grimpoteuthis, the ear-flapping ‘dumbo’ octopus, filmed thousands of metres down.
- — Dive 05: Swordfish Seamount: 2015 Hohonu Moana. Highlights from the fifth dive of the third leg of the 2015 Hohonu Moana: Exploring Deep Waters off Hawaii expedition, conducted on September 1, 2015. This was the first dive ever conducted on Swordfish Seamount, located in the Geologist Seamounts group.
- — Close encounter with a vampire squid. EV Nautilus meets the vampire squid — a living fossil of the deep.
- — Gulper eel balloons its massive jaws. EV Nautilus captures a gulper eel inflating its enormous mouth.
- — The deep-sea gulper eel. MBARI on the pelican eel, all mouth and mystery.
- — The bloody-belly comb jelly. MBARI’s ‘Weird and Wonderful’ — a deep-sea jelly whose red belly hides its glowing meals.
- — Deep relaxation: Release the stress with the bloody-belly comb jelly. MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)
- — Deep relaxation: Spend a few minutes chilling with the vampire squid. MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)
- — Into the midnight zone. MBARI biologist Bruce Robison on the animals of the deep midwater.
- — Deep relaxation: Chill out with these deep-sea octopuses. MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)
- — Fishing for eDNA: Robots help monitor a freshwater stream for a year. MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)
- — Where does the largest animal migration on Earth happen? The ocean's twilight zone. MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)
- — 8 minutes of stunning deep-sea life in 4K. A reel of MBARI’s remarkable deep-sea animal encounters.
- — Take a meditative moment and gaze into the eyes of the deep-sea rattail fish. MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)
- — Jelly-like siphonophores astound with their breathtaking beauty. MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)
- — [Rare Footage] Swim Alongside a Right Whale and Her Calf. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- — Meet MBARI: Finding inspiration for new technology in deep-sea animals. MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)
- — Mysterious Jellyfish Found in Remote Pacific Depths | Nautilus Live. EVNautilus
- — Buddy Pocknett, Shellfish Sustaining Communities. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- — Dale Oakley, Shellfish Sustaining Communities exhibit. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- — FOUR Fabulous Fossilized Whale Jaws! | Nautilus Live. The Pacific Remote Islands seamounts have been rich habitats for millions of years! While exploring seamounts in US waters north of Kingman Reef, our Corps of Exploration have come across not one, not two- but FOUR partial fossilized whale skulls! The first was sampled on Guyot 123 and identified as a fossilized portion of a beaked whale skull. ROV Hercules collected the sample over 2,100m below sea level. While age estimates are not possible from simple visual analysis, the bone has been laying on the seabed…
- — Revisiting a Whale Fall on Clayoquot Slope | Nautilus Live. EVNautilus
- — One Seamount, THREE Dumbo Octopus | Nautilus Live. EVNautilus
- — Scientists solve mystery of why thousands of octopus migrate to deep-sea thermal springs. MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)
- — “Ghostly” Dumbo Octopus in the Deep Sea | Nautilus Live. EVNautilus
- — Hitchhiking Squat Lobster, Deep Sea Fish, and a Bunch of Brisingids | Nautilus Live. While diving on Unnamed Seamount 11 in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument during our Ala ʻAumoana Kai Uli (NA154) expedition, our Corps of Exploration came across many different examples of life on the seafloor. Check out deep sea fish, including a Macrourid, corals of various colors, shapes, and sizes, a forest of Brisingid sea stars, and even a squat lobster hitching a ride on ROV Hercules’ porch in this highlight video from our H2005 dive.
- — Diversity of Deep Sea Fish from Papahānaumokuākea | Nautilus Live. EVNautilus
- — The woolly siphonophore thrives in the deep sea by stretching out to catch a meal. MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)
- — Monkfish Sits on Geometric Columnar Basalt | Nautilus Live. EVNautilus
- — The Second Start | Octopus Odyssey (too) - Week 1. Schmidt Ocean Institute
- — Future Dreams & Ocean Depths | Octopus Odyssey (too) Expedition - Week 2. Schmidt Ocean Institute
- — Meet MBARI: Autonomous robots help team reveal the secret lives of ocean predators. MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)
- — Stunning Siphonophore Strikes Back- 2014 (Remastered!) | Nautilus Live. EVNautilus
- — Eavesdropping on ocean giants: MBARI tech reveals the secret lives of blue whales. MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)
- — Squishy, Floaty, and Swimmy: Creatures of Palau’s Deep Ocean | Nautilus Live. EVNautilus
- — Exceptional Footage of Chaunacops and Dumbo Octopus in Palau | Nautilus Live. EVNautilus
- — First nautiloids spotted from EV Nautilus. A first-ever nautiloid sighting on the ship that shares its name.
- — An enchanting winter whale song from deep below Monterey Bay. MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)
- — Colossal squid — first live observation. Schmidt Ocean Institute films a colossal squid alive for the first time.
- — R(eel)y Photogenic Moray Pair on Ahyi Seamount | Nautilus Live. EVNautilus
- — Celebrate World Ocean Month with 6 minutes of remarkable deep-sea fishes. MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)
- — 5 mesmerizing minutes of flowing flatfishes to help you unwind. MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)
- — An early gulper eel encounter. MBARI throwback to one of its earliest deep-sea gulper-eel sightings.
- — Rare bigfin squid in the Cook Islands deep. A ghostly, long-armed bigfin squid filmed by EV Nautilus.
- — MBARI’s spectacular deep-sea sightings. A year of MBARI’s most striking creatures, in ultra-high definition.
- — Nautilus Field Guide: Chaunacops Anglerfish | Nautilus Live. The Nautilus Field Guide series is here to take you on a nerdy deep dive into the remarkable animals who call the deep sea home. If you love deep-sea creatures, marine biology fun facts, or just saying “what is THAT?”—this series is for you.
- — Welcome to the Midwater! | Animals as Living Bioreactors PART 1. Schmidt Ocean Institute
- — Variety of Deep Sea Animals in the Marshall Islands | Nautilus Live. EVNautilus
- — Understanding a Changing World | Animals as Living Bioreactors | Wrap-up, Part 1. Schmidt Ocean Institute
- — Deep Sea Fossilized Shark Teeth | Nautilus Live. EVNautilus
- — Nautilus Field Guide: Siphonophores | Nautilus Live. EVNautilus
- — Rare Purple Acorn Worms in the Deep-Sea of the Marianas! | Nautilus Live. EVNautilus
- — Fish Friends of the Mariana Depths | Nautilus Live. EVNautilus
