FILM STARS census photographers captured remarkable images of delicate, filmy
creatures that less sensitive sampling
methods often mangle. a new species of
narcomedusa jellyfish dubbed Bathykorus
bouilloni (far left) was collected in the
arctic ocean and shows off its dainty bell.
Kevin raSKoff
nO dUMMy a new dumbo (near left),
a close relative of octopuses, extends
rounded flaps that researchers suspect
are important for swimming. Unlike octopuses lurking in crevices, the deep-water
dumbos move through open water. census
researchers encountered this specimen
during trips to the Mid-atlantic ridge.
coUr TeSY of david Shale
COOL CUKE This pink marvel really is a
sea cucumber, though very different from
the fat, dark sluggish forms nudging along
in tide pools. The celebes Sea beauty,
Enypniastes eximia, ranks among the small
group of sea cucumbers that can leave the
ocean floor and swim gracefully, if slowly. By
undulating its collarlike structure, E. eximia
can move dozens of meters up into the
water column. census researchers found
the cuke some 2,500 meters below the
surface of the celebes Sea. dropping down
to more than 5,000 meters in places, the
celebes has several deep, chilly basins. Yet
it also sits within the coral Triangle, a region
famed for shallow, warm wonderlands of
reefs. a census expedition that went to
the celebes will help researchers address
such broad questions as whether the deep
basins mirror the richness of life found in
the surrounding shallows.
pho To BY larr Y Madin/Whoi
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