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December 25, 2025<\/p>\n
2 min read<\/p>\n
Add Us On Google<\/span>Add SciAm<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 6 Otherworldly Deep-Sea Images from 2025<\/p>\n From the first sighting of a colossal squid in the wild to a seriously goofy octopus, 2025 delivered some astounding photos from the ocean\u2019s depths<\/p>\n By Andrea Thompson edited by Jeanna Bryner<\/span><\/p>\n The mystery mollusk Bathydevius caudactylus observed at a depth of approximately 1,550 meters. It has a wide, paddlelike tail with several fingerlike projections called dactyls that may help with defense.<\/p>\n A lot of weird-looking life-forms lurk in the deep sea, and this year we got some spectacularly close looks at several of them, including a goofy Doctor Who\u2013esque octopus, alienlike Antarctic dwellers and the first-ever footage of a colossal squid in the wild. We\u2019ve rounded up a few of our favorite ocean oddities below.<\/p>\n For more than two decades, scientists at California\u2019s Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute have occasionally spotted a little translucent creature in the ocean\u2019s \u201cmidnight zone.\u201d The gelatinous blob uses a hood surrounding its head to catch prey and has detachable tentacles; its hood and tail are decorated with glowing blue-green dots. This year, scientists finally figured out what it is\u2014the \u201cmystery mollusk\u201d is actually a nudibranch, or sea slug. In fact, it\u2019s from an entirely new family of nudibranchs and has been dubbed Bathydevius caudactylus.<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n People have known about colossal squids for 100 years, but these enigmatic ocean denizens\u2014which can grow to 23 feet in length\u2014had never been observed in their natural habitat. That changed this year when Schmidt Ocean Institute scientists captured the first video of one about 2,000 feet below the ocean\u2019s surface in the remote South Atlantic Ocean. This particular squid wasn\u2019t so colossal, though\u2014it was a baby measuring only about one foot in length.<\/p>\n A large sponge, a cluster of anemones, and other life is seen nearly 230 meters deep at an area of the seabed that was very recently covered by the George VI Ice Shelf in Antarctica. Sponges can grow very slowly, sometimes less than two centimeters a year, so the size of this specimen suggests this community has been active for decades, perhaps even hundreds of years.<\/p>\n ROV SuBastian\/Schmidt Ocean Institute<\/p>\n When an iceberg the size of Chicago broke away from an Antarctic ice shelf on January 13, Schmidt Ocean Institute scientists raced over in their Falkor (too) research vessel to glimpse what life-forms had been dwelling below. \u201cThere was a sense of going into a complete unknown,\u201d said the expedition\u2019s co-chief scientist Sasha Montelli of University College London. What they found was a vibrant and alienlike ecosystem of anemones, sea spiders, icefish and octopuses\u2014including some new species\u2014that had been living there for decades or even hundreds of years.<\/p>\n ROV SuBastian\/Schmidt Ocean Institute<\/p>\n On a mission to explore methane seeps off the coast of Chile, the Schmidt researchers also explored several submarine canyons where they snapped this dark, dramatic photo of an anglerfish. These canyons are carved by strong currents that funnel sediments, nutrients and organisms through the system. The flow acts like a moving buffet for creatures like this fish, which the deep-sea detectives are still trying to identify.<\/p>\n A siphonophore documented at 1,250 meters deep in the Mar del Plata Canyon.<\/p>\n ROV SuBastian\/Schmidt Ocean Institute (CC BY-NC)<\/p>\n Off the coast of Argentina and two miles below the ocean\u2019s surface, the Schmidt scientists viewed yet more marine wonders in a canyon twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. Here, two currents come together\u2014one salty and from the tropics, the other cold and from Antarctica\u2014supporting rich biodiversity. Many of the animals, like the beautiful siphonophore above, come in peachy-pink hues\u2014that\u2019s because red light doesn\u2019t travel far in the dark ocean\u2019s depths, providing the perfect camouflage.<\/p>\n A translucent telescope octopus floats in the deep sea.<\/p>\n ROV SuBastian\/Schmidt Ocean Institute (CC BY-NC)<\/p>\n One of our very favorite images from the year came from the same canyon. The team spotted this translucent telescope octopus floating upside down and\u2014for the Doctor Who fans out there\u2014giving serious Lady Cassandra vibes.<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. Scientific American<\/span> has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been a Scientific American<\/span> subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm <\/span>always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.<\/p>\n If you subscribe to Scientific American<\/span>, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.<\/p>\n In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.<\/p>\n There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" December 25, 2025 2 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm 6 Otherworldly Deep-Sea Images from 2025 From the first sighting of a colossal squid in the wild to a seriously goofy octopus, 2025 delivered some astounding photos from the ocean\u2019s depths By Andrea Thompson edited by Jeanna Bryner The mystery mollusk Bathydevius caudactylus observed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[8851,1506,21260],"class_list":{"0":"post-39064","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-deepsea","9":"tag-images","10":"tag-otherworldly"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/39065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\u2018Mystery Mollusk\u2019 Is a Mystery No More<\/h2>\n
On supporting science journalism<\/h2>\n
Baby Squid, Doo Doo Doo<\/h2>\n
What\u2019s under an Iceberg?<\/h2>\n
Deep-Sea Noir<\/h2>\n
Hiding in Pink Sight<\/h2>\n
The Goofiest Octopus You\u2019ll Ever See<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s Time to Stand Up for Science<\/h2>\n