The rarest of the rare! This holy-grail dream fish is a larval-stage #monkfish, aka #goosefish.
Shot in the wild, using scuba, while diving at night over water several thousand feet deep, several miles offshore from Kumejima, Okinawa.
#larvalfish #blackwater #gug #deepseafish
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
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
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
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
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
Larval-stage #basslet
Shot in the wild, several miles offshore from West Palm Beach, FL, USA, on scuba, out over the deep abyss, at night.
#marinelife #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater #larvalfish
A very rare & yet-to-be-classified species of deep-water #anglerfish in its larval stage. Anyone care to lend me their sub so I can go searching for an adult lying on the seafloor at 2500m deep?😁
#deepseafish #larvalfish #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #chrisgug #gugunderwater #gug
The Sash Flounder (Trichopsetta ventralis) is seldomly one that I stop and focus on. But this specimen was unusually big & beautiful & chill, so it justified a bit of video love!
#flounder #sashflounder #larvalfish #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater
In order, we have:
1) #Louvar
2) #swordfish
3) #flyingfish
4) #cuskeel
5) #ipnops
6) #siphonophore (don’t lick 👅)
7) #polychaete worm
8) sargassum #filefish
#deepseafish #larvalfish #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #blackwatervideo #scubadiving #ocean #gugunderwater #gug
Eels go through life stages, and this is the Leptocephalus stage of a #conger #eel, likely closely related to the specimen featured in the Aliens Collection print, “Alien #2”.
#congereel #leptocephali #larvalfish #conger#chrisgug #gugunderwater #gug #marinelife #blackwater #blackwaterdiving
The lookdown #fish is already one of my favorite species, but the only thing cooler might just be the larval stage of a #lookdown!!!
#selenevomer #lookdownfish #larvalfish #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #larvallookdown #chrisgug #gugunderwater #gug
Of the several different species of larval-stage #dragonfish that I occasionally encounter on my Aliens Collection dives, this is my fav. More distinct finnage, and super cool color dots.
#larvalfish #deepseafish #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #gugunderwater #chrisgug #gug
Trying something new here…
Here’s a collage of images that didn’t make the cut; all the B and C-listers from one dive on March 6, 2024. Have fun zooming in and seeing how many you can ID!
#larvalfish #deepseacreatures #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #gugunderwater #gug
Too cute to not post! This little behbeh #pufferfish is one of the few fish who seems attracted by the lights of my floating downline, rather than be repulsed by them.
#larvalfish #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #chrisgug #gug #gugunderwater
Looking like a big, scary dragon, this very rare, teensy, tiny baby Armored Sea Robin is always a pleasure to find. This is the same species featured in my print, “Alien 27”
#armoredsearobin #searobin #gurnard #deepseafish #larvalfish #blackwater #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater
Larval-stage jack fish shelter inside a crystal jellyfish.
This is the same subject as my print in the Aliens Collection, “Alien 19”
#jellyfish #larvalfish #symbiosis #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #chrisgug #gugunderwater #gug #🪼 #underwater
One of the biggest, most beautiful larval-stage #dragonfish ever!
.
Shot while drifting in the open ocean at night
#deepseafish #larvalfish #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #chrisgug #gugunderwater #gug #scubadiving #underwater #plankton
