Many worms go through a planktonic larval stage, and in this case, the spaghetti worm is quite similar in form to its post-metamorphosis adult
The last 8 seconds shows an adult.
Larval footage: Okinawa. Adult: Florida
#spaghettiworm #blackwaterdiving #kumejima #okinawa #blackwater
A very large juvenile diamond squid - this one measuring in at a whopping 3” - perhaps the 2nd largest I’ve ever seen!
Shot in the wild, using scuba, while out over the deep abyss, several miles offshore from Okinawa
#diamondsquid #thysanoteuthisrhombus #blackwaterdiving #gug #gugunderwater
#Lobsters go through an early life stage called #Phyllosoma where they’re planktonic, and they’re constantly on the lookout for a “life raft” - often something with stingy bits, like this muave stinger #jellyfish.
#lobster #blackwaterdiving #deepseacreatures #gug
The #BlueButton, (Porpita porpita). It’s not a #jellyfish, but rather a colony of cooperating #hydroids.
Shot using #scuba, while drifting in the open ocean at night.
And yes, the lick test says it’s only mildly spicy.
#bluebuttonjellyfish #porpitaporpita #blackwaterdiving
Imagine wearing a #jellyfish as a helmet!?!
Well, that’s exactly what this juvenile jack is doing! Mostly immune to its sting, the jack has taken the jellyfish prisoner.
Shot using #scuba, out over the deep abyss, drifting at night.
#blackwater #blackwaterdiving #scubadiving #gug
The most beautiful #snail ever to exist!
Many #marine snails go through an early life stage called #veliger, wherein they drift along with the #plankton before settling onto the sea floor as an adult. We call this, #sparkles
#blackwater #blackwaterdiving #mollusk #gug
Hey little bebeh Ornate Ghost Pipefish - what are you doing out here in the middle of the ocean in the middle of the night, drifting around with the plankton? Not something I’d expect to see out here!
#ornateghostpipefish #blackwaterdiving #gugunderwater #kumejima #okinawa
When it comes to my Aliens Collection, the weirder the better - and few fish are weirder than the larval-stage #Lamprogrammus #cuskeel
#deepsea #deepseacreatures #deepwater #deepseafish #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater
A giant #Pteropod #seabutterfly, Corolla spectabilis, cruising through the nighttime open ocean.
Shot in the wild, using scuba, while drifting out over the deep abyss, at night, off Okinawa.
#corollaspectabilis #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #kumejima #okinawa #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater
A quick clip of the first-ever sighting of a bony-eared assfish (#Acanthonus armatus) in Okinawa!
#bonyearedassfish #assfish #acanthonusarmatus #deepseacreatures #deepseafish #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater
A larval-stage Brama pomfret clings to a ctenophore (comb jelly).
#pomfret #brama #bramidae #larvalfish #ctenophore #combjelly #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #chrisgug #gugunderwater #gug
I presume this is a type of Myctophidae lanternfish, but I’m not 100% sure.
TL ~2.5cm
Shot offshore from Palm Beach, FL in Feb2025
#lanternfish #myctophidae #deepseafish #fishlarvae #larvalfish #deepseacreatures #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater
A big, beautiful, bebeh whalefish, drifting with the plankton over the nighttime abyss.
Body without the crazy “tapetail” is ~6cm
#whalefish #tapetail #deepseafish #deepwater #deepsea #deepseacreatures #larvalfish #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater
I have a feeling that soon there is going to be a lot more of these little peanut-size #pelagic #heteropods! Everywhere I turned, there was another pair doing the horizontal no-pants romance dance.
#heteropoda #seaangel #seabutterfly #blackwaterdiving #okinawa #gugunderwater #gug #mollusk
While I don’t think anyone has made a specific designation between “larval” and “adult”, in the moorish idol, I’m going to label this one “post-larval”
#moorishidol #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #kumejima #okinawa #chrisgug #gug #gugunderwater
The most colorful #squid I’ve ever seen! And such a cooperative poser too!
#🦑 #cephalopod #chromatophores #calamari #underwater #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #blackwatervideo #kumeisland #kumejima #okinawa #chrisgug #gugunderwater #gug
Ctenophores, more commonly called comb jellies, are pretty much everywhere in all oceans, but they’re incredibly hard to see during the day. But at night...
#combjelly #colloblasts #blackwaterdiving #blackwater #blackwaterphotography #okinawa #kume #kumejima #chrisgug #gug #gugunderwater
Crazy-looking larval cusk eel with an impressive external gut. We’re still not sure why having the intestines on the outside is advantageous, but there must be a good reason 🤔
TL ~2.5cm
#cuskeel #larvalfish #deepseafish #deepseacreatures #blackwaterdiving #chrisgug #gugunderwater #gug
How cute! This Bony-Eared Assfish has a pet amphipod!
And yes, that’s the actual name of this this #fish - the bony-eared #assfish #Acanthonus armatus
#cuskeel #bonyearedassfish #acanthonusarmatus #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #deepseafish #larvalfish #deepsea #chrisgug #gugunderwater #gug
Jellyfish helmet!
This larval-stage jack fish (aka trevally) is living inside the #jellyfish for protection against whatever might come his way.
#jackfish #trevalley #jellyfish #🪼 #symbiosis #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater #okinawa #kume #kumejima
One of the smallest Armored Sea Robins that I’ve ever seen - its body a little larger than a pea.
This is the same species featured in my Aliens Collection Print, “Alien #27”.
#armoredsearobin #searobin #larvalfish #deepseafish #blackwaterdiving #gurnard #chrisgug #gug #gugunderwater
Here’s a weird one for ya - even by my standards! This #crab has a pair of #barnacles growing out of its forehead!
This crab is in an early life stage known as #Megalopa
#parasitism #symbiosis #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #okinawa #chrisgug #gugunderwater #gug
The largest larval-stage #Lucibrotula corethromycter cusk eel I’ve ever seen!
#cuskeel #larvalfish #deepseafish #deepsea #deepseacreatures #lucibrotula #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater #scubadiving #underwater
A young #argonaut #octopus (aka “paper #nautilus”) hitches a ride atop a muave stinger #jellyfish.
#papernautilus #symbiosis #muavestinger #🐙 #🪼 #blackwater #blackwaterphotography #blackwaterdiving #chrisgug #gugunderwater #gug #kumejima #okinawa #marinelife
A beautifully-crowned #Tonguefish larvae (#Cynoglossidae sp.), drifting with the #plankton in #Okinawa. Don’t worry - it gets more “tongue-y” as it gets to its adult stage.
#flatfish #fishlarvae #deepseafish #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater
First (and only) time seeing this species - and this doesn’t appear to be a larval-stage - perhaps a juvenile, just post-metamorphosis.
#soapfish #larvalsoapfish #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #chrisgug #gug #gugunderwater
Another of my “Images Unsorted” folders ✔️ This time from 18 & 19 May, 2024
In order, we have
1) #DiamondSquid
2) “monstrous” shrimp
3) unidentified #scorpionfish
4) #gurnard
5) #codlett
6) unidentified #CuskEel
7) shrimp riding a #PelagicNudibranch
#deepseafish #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #gug
The so-called “Monster Shrimp” is the larval stage of the deep sea-dwelling Cerataspis monstrosa.
#cerataspismonstrosa #deepseacreatures #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater
Freaky fishies & other gooey things from 15-17May2024.
1 & 2) two different species of #dragonfish
3) #anglerfish
4) male #nautilus #octopus riding a salp
5) #phronima in a #salp
6) #scaleworm
7) #whalefish
#larvalfish #deepseafish #blackwaterdiving #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater
Whalefish are often called tapetails when in their larval stage. This one’s tail was ~4x its 1.5” body length.
#whalefish #tapetail #cetomimidae #larvalfish #deepseafish #deepseacreatures #ditropichthysstoreri #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater
