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November 5, 2021: Bobtail Squid

This squee-worthy bobtail squid was observed with its arms and fins tucked below its body as it rested on the seafloor along the eastern wall of McMaster Canyon, approximately 80 miles southeast of Long Island.

Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, Our Deepwater Backyard: Exploring Atlantic Canyons and Seamounts 2014. Download larger version (jpg, 1.7 MB).

This squee-worthy bobtail squid was observed with its arms and fins tucked below its body as it rested on the seafloor along the eastern wall of McMaster Canyon, approximately 80 miles southeast of Long Island. Seen during the Our Deepwater Backyard: Exploring Atlantic Canyons and Seamounts 2014 expedition.

These animals belong to the cephalopod order Sepiolida. Because of their rounded bodies, sepiolids are generally known as "bobtail squids," but recent DNA evidence suggests that they are actually not closely related to squids at all.