A research team working near Palmyra Atoll, in the Pacific Ocean was delighted to happen upon an unusual sight - a piglet squid.
The team aboard the Exploration Vessel Nautilus team used a camera to enjoy a close-up with a see-through piglet squid (Helicocranchia sp.), named for its large siphon that looks like a snout.
Able to regulate buoyancy with an ammonia-filled internal chamber, the squid is often observed with its tentacles flared above its head.
The encounter happened near Palmyra Atoll, 1,385m below sea level during a deep-water exploration mission across the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM), among the largest marine protected areas in the world.
🐷🦑 Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a piglet squid | https://t.co/JlvNBtUMwf pic.twitter.com/qDoe8ysJfL
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) July 4, 2019
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