MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) researchers spotted a rare deep sea creature, the strawberry squid, during a recent dive. The remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Doc Ricketts spotted this elusive creature 2,378 feet deep in Monterey Canyon and captured amazing 4K footage. Why does it have mismatched eyes? The one big eye and one small eye work together to help the squid hunt for food in the ocean’s twilight zone.
Its big left eye looks upward to seek out shadows cast by prey in the dimly lit waters above, while its tubular shape enables it to collect as much light as possible. Typically, this eye has a yellow lens to see through the luminescent camouflage of its prey. The right eye is smaller and looks downward to search for flashes of bioluminescence produced by prey or predators hiding in the darker waters below.
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Food is scarce in the deep sea, so animals must evolve unique strategies to find food. They must also find ways to avoid becoming food. Like many deep-sea animals, the strawberry squid is bright red. Red light does not reach the deep sea. There, a crimson coloration actually appears black and helps the squid hide from the gaze of predators like sperm whales, dolphins, tunas, swordfish, and sharks,” said MBARI.
