This video was recorded aboard the @mbarinews.bsky.social R/V Rachel Carson. Joost Daniels uses DeepPIV, an innovative imaging technology that utilizes lasers, to scan a larvacean so we can study their intricate structures.

This week’s #DrawnFromTheDeep icon is the larvacean. You can search for larvaceans by playing Bound in FathomVerse, and we encourage you to share your larvacean-inspired art on the FathomVerse Discord! discord.gg/E77WXsfpbD

Keep the celebration going all month with our October #DrawnFromTheDeep challenge by playing FathomVerse and sharing a drawing of a hagfish on the FathomVerse Discord. discord.gg/E77WXsfpbD

Even if you can’t visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Into the Deep exhibit to meet hagfish face-to-face, you can cozy up with #FathomVerse and contribute to marine science from anywhere in the world!📱

Play the Bound mini-game this week and locate a few hagfish to earn the badge and show your love for these deep-sea jawless fish.

“Enteropneusts are actually more closely related to humans than to worms. They have a rudimentary nerve cord similar to ours and breathe oxygen using structures similar to a fish’s gills,” according to @mbarinews.bsky.social.

Learn more here: www.mbari.org/animal/acorn...

Play #FathomVerse to improve your ID skills and join our Discord for more deep dives into ocean animals!

fathomverse.game

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🪸 Sea fan coral
- May look solid white in footage, but colors vary by species of corals
- Fan shape with small polyps on the branches (usually visible)
- Has a distinct disk-shaped holdfast for attachment to hard substrate

📸 @noaa.gov NOAA Ocean Exploration

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How can we tell this is a glass sponge? Let’s take a closer look.

Glass sponge
- Icy, opaque look
- Shaggy and wispy branches from irregular spicules
- Cylindrical central core of each branch, where the spicules extend outward

📸 @schmidtocean.bsky.social

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🐟 Play Bound in FathomVerse to say bonjour to Monsieur Frown!

🎭 The researchers observed several highly charismatic characters on their fourth day at sea, including a Graneledone octopus, Rajidae skates, and Monsieur Frown!

🛠️ This expedition was part of an engineering shakedown to do a full test of NOAA’s ship the Okeanos Explorer and the ROVs Deep Discoverer and Seirios.

Our partner, @montereybayaquarium.org, champions policies that reduce the flow of plastic from land to sea. Play FathomVerse for seven minutes this month to earn the #PlasticFreeJuly badge.

More info: www.fathomverse.game/post/it-s-pl...