Explore MBARI’s amazing deep-sea discoveries
Discoveries are reminders that we know so little about the ocean, Earth's largest habitat.
Bathochordaeus mcnutti
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Bathochordaeus mcnutti
The giant larvacean builds a large mucous house that filters food from the surrounding water. Eventually the filters get clogged and the larvacean abandons them. The sinking houses, packed with food particles, provide an important source of food for animals living on the seafloor.
Bathochordaeus mcnutti
MBARI researchers use remotely operated vehicles, video cameras, and lasers to study giant larvaceans in their own habitat. This species is named after former MBARI president Marcia McNutt.
Depth range: 90–120 meters (295–395 feet)
Size: 3–10 centimeters (1.2–4 inches)
Careproctus kamikawai
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Careproctus kamikawai
The genus Careproctus is found throughout the world ocean from the intertidal zone to the deep sea.
Careproctus kamikawai
This snailfish has a long scaleless, tadpole-like body with gelatinous skin, a large head, and small eyes.
Depth range: 468–1,400 meters (1,500–4,500 feet)
Size: 136–153 millimeters (5.3–6 inches) in length
Lampocteis cruentiventer
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Lampocteis cruentiventer
The sparkling display on the outside of this comb jelly comes from light diffracting from tiny transparent, hair-like cilia. These beat continuously, propelling the jelly through the water.
Lampocteis cruentiventer
At the depths where Lampocteis lives, it's nearly invisible to predators because red appears black so the animal blends into the dark background.
Depth range: 300–1,000 meters (984–3,280 feet)
Maximum length: 15 centimeters (six inches)
Chondrocladia lyra
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Chondrocladia lyra
This is called the harp sponge because its basic structure, called a vane, is shaped like a harp or lyre. But don’t let the harp sponge’s whimsical appearance and innocent sounding name fool you, it’s actually a deep-sea predator.
Depth range: 3,300–3,500 meters (2–2.17 miles)
Maximum size: 60 centimeters (24 inches) wide, 30–40 centimeters (12–16 inches) tall
Swima fulgida
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Swima fulgida
Green bomber worms live just above the seafloor and are vigorous swimmers, able to maneuver both backwards and forwards. Each worm carries several "bombs."
Depth range: 3,267–3,625 meters (2–2.25 miles)
Size: up to 3 centimeters (1.2 inches)
Culeolus barryi
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Culeolus barryi
These animals live suspended a little above the seafloor so that they can capture particles of food from the water that they pump through an inner filter.
Culeolus barryi
The species is named in honor of MBARI Senior Scientist James P. Barry, a benthic ecologist, who has contributed enormously to the study of deep-sea ecosystems.
Depth: 1,200 meters (4,000 feet)
Size: Stalk 38 centimeters (15 inches) long, body 10.5 centimeters (four inches) long
Tiburonia granrojo
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Tiburonia granrojo
Despite its large size, scientists didn't encounter it until 1993. The fact that scientists could miss something so big and with such a wide range suggests that many more surprises await us in our exploration of the deep sea.
Tiburonia granrojo
Like a big red spaceship cruising the ocean depths, Tiburonia granrojo is truly otherworldly. It was named after MBARI’s remotely operated vehicle Tiburon.
Depth range: 600–2,100 meters (2,000–7,000 feet)
Maximum width: one meter (3.3 feet)
Tritonia nigritigris
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Tritonia nigritigris
Scientists found this frilly nudibranch on an underwater mountain off the coast of Central California. The animal was crawling over ancient volcanic rocks near a clump of deep-sea corals.
Tritonia nigritigris
Nudibranchs come in a wide array of bright colors. Note the delicate pattern of dark and light stripes on the animal’s body, scientists named this species nigritigris, which is a combination of the Latin words for “black” and “tiger.”
Depth: 1,733 meters (1 mile)
Size: 82 millimeters (3.2 inches)
Apolemia lanosa
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Apolemia lanosa
Apolemia lanosa uses millions of tiny stinging tentacles to capture small animals.
Apolemia lanosa
This long siphonophore is made up of many individuals acting as a colony. Some are specialized for swimming, feeding, reproduction, or defense.
Depth: 1,151 meters (3,776 feet)
Length: 3 meters (10 feet)
Erenna sirena
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Erenna sirena
These unusual creatures are too fragile to survive traditional collection methods—they completely fall to pieces in nets. Scientists use remotely operated vehicles to observe them in their natural habitat.
Erenna sirena
This fish-eating siphonophore attracts prey by wiggling an array of glowing red lures.
Depth range: 1,600–2,400 meters (1–1.5 miles)
Size: 45 centimeters (18 inches)
Asbestopluma monticola
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Asbestopluma monticola
Most sponges are filter feeders, but Asbestopluma monticola traps larger, more nutrient-dense organisms, like crustaceans, using beautiful and intricate microscopic hooks. "Monticola" means "mountain-dweller" in Latin.
Depth: 1,280–1,320 meters (4,200–4,330 feet)
Size: 19–28 centimeters (7.5 inches–11 inches) in height
Calyptogena packardana
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Calyptogena packardana
These clams derive much of their nutrition from the symbiotic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria in their gills. The bacteria, in turn, live off of sulfides that seep out of the seafloor.
Calyptogena packardana
Chemosynthetic bacteria are contained in the gills of cold-seep clams. This species was named for MBARI Founder David Packard and his wife, Lucile.
Depth: 635 meters (2,083 feet)
Size: 77 millimeters (3 inches)
President and Chief Executive Officer Chris Scholin reflects on our ocean's future as we approach the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing.
Learn moreOn the Horizon
Several projects in the upcoming year are focused on new methods of observation, by placing instruments in extreme or remote environments or adding tools to gather different types of images for both science and education.
Keeping an eye on a deep-sea coral garden
Developing an observatory to monitor the health of a coral and sponge community.
Keeping an eye on a deep-sea coral garden
The big picture
Unmanned aerial vehicles may be deployed for repeatable and low-cost ocean-science applications such as animal counts and monitoring harmful algal blooms.
The big picture
Virtual reality
Using virtual reality for science and education about the deep sea.
Virtual reality
Gathering data in remote areas
Project tests the ability of an autonomous sailboat to stay on course in rough conditions to enable carbon studies in remote regions.
Gathering data in remote areas
Weird and Wonderful
The discoveries of the interesting, the weird, and the wonderful in the deep sea seem to be endless. This year we feature a case of serendipity in finding a shipwreck, and spreading the wonder of bioluminescence via the US Postal Service.
Featured in MBARI logo
Oversized jaws and stomach make this eel an effective predator in the deep sea.
Featured in MBARI logo
Shipwreck revealed
Mapping data collected for a geology research project reveals a sunken ship off the coast of Southern California.
Shipwreck revealed
Life among the coral
Strange crabs with arms four to six times as long as their body are found living among deep-sea corals.
Life among the coral
Glowing marine worm
Stamps call attention to the prevalence of bioluminescence among marine life.
Glowing marine worm
2018 Award Recipients
Peter Brewer
National Science and Technology Award , The People’s Republic of China
Steve Haddock
Ed Ricketts Memorial Award Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Bill Kirkwood
Autonomous Underwater Systems Lifetime Technical Achievement Award , Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers/Oceanic Engineering Society
Jacki Long
Sackett Prize for Innovative Research , University of South Florida
Victoria Orphan
Distinguished Scientist and Scholar Award, NOMIS Foundation
Charles Paull
Francis P. Shepard Award for Excellence in Marine Geology, Society for Sedimentary Geology
John Ryan
Visiting Fellowship of Antarctic Gateway Partnership, University of Tasmania, Australia
Yanwu Zhang
Visiting Fellowship of Antarctic Gateway Partnership University of Tasmania, Australia
Honorable Mention, Diet Secrets of the Deep and Fathomous
Anela Choy, Steve Haddock, Bruce Robison, Kyra Schlining, Susan von Thun
MBARI’s Information and Technology Dissemination Division
2020 Marine Education Award for outstanding work and leadership by an organization