The tripod fish Bathypterois viridensis observed during Dive 6. Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Exploring Deep-sea Habitats off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.Download larger version (jpg, 809 KB).
This branched colonial scleractinian coral, Solenosmilia variabilis, and crinoid filmed on a steep vertical wall during Dive 6. Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Exploring Deep-sea Habitats off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.Download larger version (jpg, 1.1 MB).
Beardfish Polymixia sp. filmed over flat sedimented terrain during Dive 6. Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Exploring Deep-sea Habitats off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.Download larger version (jpg, 1.2 MB).
Squat lobster with drawn pincers, also known as chelae, seen during Dive 6. Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Exploring Deep-sea Habitats off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.Download larger version (jpg, 1.3 MB).
The swimming sea cucumber, Enypniastes eximia, sometimes referred to as the “headless chicken monster,” is a widespread species present in the abyss. It is encountered widely around the world with records from the Gulf of Mexico, Tropical Atlantic, East Atlantic, New Zealand, and the Southern Ocean (Antarctica). Learn more here. Video courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Exploring Deep-sea Habitats off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.Download larger version (mp4, 79.2 MB).
This is a sumo crab, family Dorippidae, perhaps the genus Ethusa. One must look at the carapace in greater detail to be certain of the genus and species. Like sponge crabs (family Dromiidae), they use specialized hind legs to hold on to camouflaging material such as sponges. It can be tough to tell the two families apart, but sumo crabs tend to have longer legs and longer eyestalks than dromiids and can live in deeper water. They get their common name of "sumo crab" because some of them have grooves on the carapace that look like the scowling face of a sumo wrestler. Video courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Exploring Deep-sea Habitats off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.Download larger version (mp4, 46.3 MB).
Today’s dive allowed us a glimpse into the deep-sea life of the Inés María Mendoza Nature Reserve, a marine protected area off Yabucoa on the southeast shore of Puerto Rico. During the dive, we explored a mound rising about 200 meters (655 feet) off the surrounding seafloor at depths between 636-877 meters (2,085-2,875 feet). The dive began in a flat area dominated by soft sediment at the base of the mound and then transitioned into steep hardground with intermittent and sedimented plateaus. A gulper shark greeted us as we reached the bottom, and we saw two more sharks, a bluntnose sixgill shark and possible catshark, during the dive.
The fish and benthic diversity at today’s dive was a pleasant surprise and among the highest recorded on a single dive during this expedition. We saw at least 18 species of fish, with halosaurs and congrid eels being the most common fishes. The deep-sea coral and sponge fauna was also very diverse and included numerous species of glass sponges, demosponges, black corals, scleractinian corals, primnoids, plexaurids, chrysogorgiids, alcyonaceans, and stylasterids. We were also able to collect four biological specimens during the dive, including a demosponge, a stalked glass sponge, a cup coral, and a polychaete worm in a spiral tube structure.
