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posted by cmn32480 on Sunday December 13 2015, @11:02AM   Printer-friendly
from the he-forgot-the-trenchcoat dept.

A squid with shiny, bioluminescent "spotlights" tipping two of its arms and what look like waxy red lips shared a close encounter with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) in deep ocean waters near Hawaii.

The deepwater star of the video is estimated to measure between 3 and 7 feet (1 and 2 meters) in length. Broad, flexible fins extend from the squid's mantle; as they furl and flap, these fins steer T. danae through the water.

While the Dana octopus squid may lack a squid's trademark trailing tentacles, it makes up for them in spectacular lighting equipment, with two of its muscular arms ending in lidded light organs called "photophores." About the size of lemons, these photophores are the largest known light-producing organs in the animal kingdom, said Mike Vecchione, a zoologist at the NOAA National Systematics Laboratory at the Smithsonian Institution and a curator of cephalopods at the National Museum of Natural History, both in Washington, D.C.

Also noted was how bright these photophores are, showing up on video with the already bright lights of the ROV.


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  • (Score: 1) by TrentDavey on Sunday December 13 2015, @05:18PM

    by TrentDavey (1526) on Sunday December 13 2015, @05:18PM (#275802)

    "Flasher" the twin-beamed Dana octopus squid?

    Background info:
    Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer
    You know Dasher and Dancer
    And Prancer and Vixen,
    Comet and Cupid
    And Donner and Blitzen.
    But do you recall
    The most famous reindeer of all?
    Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer
    Had a very shiny nose
    And if you ever saw it
    You would even say it glows
    All of the other reindeer
    Used to laugh and call him names
    They never let poor Rudolph
    Play in any reindeer games
    Then one foggy Christmas Eve
    Santa came to say,
    "Rudolph with your nose so bright
    Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"
    Then all the reindeer loved him
    And they shouted out with glee,
    "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer
    You'll go down in history!"