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December 22, 2021: Acorn Worm

Acorn worms were just one of the many types of strange fauna observed while exploring a site dubbed “Twin Peaks'' during the 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas.

Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas. Download larger version (jpg, 865 KB).

Acorn worms were just one of the many types of strange fauna observed while exploring a site dubbed “Twin Peaks" during the 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas. During the dive, scientists also observed everything from swimming sea cucumbers, carnivorous sponges, and long-legged isopods, to hermit crabs with commensal anemones, pregnant mysid shrimp, many stalked sponges, and several deep-sea lizard fish. Watch a video from the dive.