Our little find yesterday turned out to be quite rare

[MaxBottomtime]

Our unknown cephalopod has been identified as a Vampire Squid, Vampyroteuthis infernalis. They are found between 300 and 3,000 feet. Ours is shown in its defensive posture, wrapping its arms back over its body.

Vampire Squid - Deep Sea Creatures on Sea and Sky

 

[ktomlinson]

That's an awesome spotting! How deep were you when you saw it?

 

[merxlin]

That's a great find! Now we have to wonder what it was doing so shallow.

 

[Lucas Cordina]

Nice! Very few people manage to see something like that!

Glad you've managed to take a photo of it! Must have been quiet a deep dive though, no?

 

[MaxBottomtime]

We found it on the surface, then took it down to 80 feet to try for photos but the brown water at depth made that difficult.

 

[fnfalman]

That's an incredible find!!!

That's the stuff that you only see on National Geographic or Discovery.

 

[TSandM]

What an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime find. A rare, deep water creature -- and you knew what it was (or at least what sort of thing it was). I looked at the photograph you posted and wondered how on earth you thought it was a cephalopod . . . but you were entirely right.

Thank you for sharing this amazing experience with us!

 

[Cave Diver]

I have to say, you and Merry seem to have a talent for running into the unusual. Very cool!

Any thoughts as to why it may have been at the surface? Did it seem injured?

 

[yodelhawk]

Wow! How cool is that? Congrats on this awsome find!!!

 

[Peter_C]

The fact that it flips it's body inside out is WILD!