This is a false catshark, Pseudotriakis microdon, named for catlike eyes. A bit soft around the middle — some might even say these ground sharks are flabby — and they move rather slowly, which led to another common name: “sofa shark.” #DeepWonders, 1,086 m

Allyuh look ting! 🇹🇹 Dr. Diva Amon and a team of primarily Trinbagonian scientists explored the deep waters of Trinidad & Tobago, providing 1st holistic & systematic look at the territory. #DeepWonders will inform future ocean stewardship in the region & beyond.

Enypniastes eximia, a deep-sea sea cucumber recorded at 1095 m during #DeepWonders expedition. We see how this graceful gelatinous gem earned the nickname Spanish dancer. Look how their tubefeet glide across the seafloor, scooping up nutritious marine snow as the animal swoops up into the water.

These echinoderms are related to sea stars, urchins, and sand dollars. Some, called sea lilies, live on stems attached to the seafloor, while others can move about (and are called feather stars like this one). Recorded at 1,092 m during the #DeepWonders expedition led by @divaamon.bsky.social

The #DeepWonders science team was thrilled to happen upon these animals thriving 1,143 meters beneath the ocean surface. In the deep sea, a single coral colony can support a small ecosystem, hosting squat lobsters, deep-sea spiders, and more!

Opisthoteuthis, or flapjack, a genus of cirrate octopuses observed at 1,040 meters during the #DeepWonders expedition with @divaamon.bsky.social. Using their umbrella-like body shape, they coast through the water. Their fins help guide their way (despite looking like large floppy ears).

Black swallower fish — swell dining in the deep! During a recent ROV dive near Trinidad & Tobago, the #DeepWonders science team — led by @divaamon.bsky.social — collected spectacular footage of a black swallower fish (Chiasmodon sp.) at a depth of 1259 meters.

In the deep sea, you can’t actually see red. Read more about this red-iculous squid sighting at 762 m from #DeepWonders expedition with @divaamon.bsky.social & a team of Trinbagonian scientists here: youtube.com/shorts/KSe7z...

The #DeepWonders team, led by @divaamon.bsky.social, encountered this curious grenadier fr the genus Coryphaenoides at 1,900m — 2.3 times as deep as the height of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Also known as rattails, most are smaller; this individual was nearly 1m long.

The #DeepWonders science team, led by @divaamon.bsky.social, of SpeSeas, is seeing many sea cucumbers, including these rhythmic water dancers that could be Benthothuria sp. They are part of the deep-sea cleanup crew, ingesting decaying detritus and pooping clean sand along the seafloor.

The #DeepWonders science team filmed this chimaera or ghost shark at 1,027 m. @divaamon.bsky.social and a primarily Trinbagonian team of scientists are leading this expedition in Trinidad & Tobago. (Read #PoetryInOcean version here: www.instagram.com/reel/DalKGJZ...)

A sea urchin fr the genus Phormosoma, recorded at 2,011 m (or 5x around a running track if watching this little guy makes you feel the need for speed!) According to @echinoblog.bsky.social this urchin speed-walks along the sea bottom with spines that are modified with little "shoes." #Doldrums

🚨Not one, but two Magnapinna squid! 🚨 the #doldrums team observed 2 elusive Magnapinna sp., commonly known as bigfin squid, at approximately 4,300 m (about 2.7 miles). Magnapinna is the deepest-dwelling squid. Sightings of these animals are extremely rare — seeing two in one dive is extra exciting!

🐙 Say hello to Inopinoteuthis magna — the big-eyed jellyhead. 🐙 And yes, that common name does makes us suspect someone’s kiddo was in the lab that day! (Special thanks to @jeffday.bsky.social for sharing this species ID when we posted a different view of the animal.) #Doldrums 2,923 m

This is a deep-sea isopod. Dr. Johanna Weston, a deep-ocean biologist and guest investigator at @whoi.edu, is confident this is Bathyopsurus nybelini, one of her favorite animals. Learn why via the YouTube caption: youtube.com/shorts/DenUj...

Join us for a Schmidt Ocean Institute Back Ashore discussion, where we hear from scientists following expeditions on R/V Falkor and Falkor (too) to learn where the science has taken them. Register here: https://schmidtocean-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Vpq_AjDtQ1mb0vZlFbU2Dg#/registration

🌊 Ocean job alert! 🌊 We're hiring a Science Systems Specialist to support cruise planning on R/V Falkor (too) and management of the maritime instrumentation and scientific equipment. Learn more & apply! https://jobs.lever.co/schmidt-entities/ccec45a4-a347-445e-a022-6e0b8045dc56

22 May is National Maritime Day in the US. While R/V Falkor (too) works around the world, we don’t want to miss an opportunity to celebrate & cheer for the people who make science, exploration & discovery at sea possible: the talented Falkor (too) crew. Fair winds & following seas, friends! 🌊

Congratulations to @divaamon.bsky.social, Marcela Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, & all the winners from the 7 May Peter Benchley Ocean Awards — “the Oscars for the Ocean” — at @montereybayaquarium.org 📷 Peter Benchley Ocean Awards https://www.peterbenchleyoceanawards.org/2026-pboa-award-winners

A new species of siphonophore, recorded at 897 m during the #DesigningtheFuture3 expedition. ROV pilots were able to carefully zoom in on this animal’s nectophores, or swimming bells — these are the group of medusae responsible for propulsion. (Read more: www.instagram.com/reel/DYiP_eB...)

You can read more about this graceful gossamer worm, filmed during #designingthefutute3, and why this animal is Chief Scientist Karen Osborn's favorite via the caption on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/shorts/knSxX...

On Friday, 8 May, Schmidt Ocean Institute Science Program Senior Manager Leonard Pace spoke at the AI + Expo, hosted by Special Competitive Studies Project, a nonprofit led by Eric Schmidt and Ylli Bajraktari. Pace spoke about the use of AI in ocean exploration.

Here's the full caption:

Tiny copepods: Big impact! This is likely a Lophothrix, a ~5 mm copepod. For 30 years, Dr. David Fields (@bigelowlab.bsky.social) says copepods are ubiquitous throughout the ocean; they've adapted to live in many different environments — from mangrove trees to the Antarctic seafloor.

https://www.deepoceanobserving.org/pages/2026-annual-meeting Executive Director of @schmidtOcean Dr. Jyotika Virmani will be on the panel entitled: The Next Frontiers In Deep Ocean Science: What Will We Discover and How Will We Do It Together? Thurs, 7 May, 2026 13:55 - 14:55 PM EDT

What do shrimp see? “These guys have completely different eye designs,” according to Dr. Jan Hemmi, a visual neurobiologist. Their large eye size tells Dr. Hemmi and his colleagues that eyes are pretty important to these animals. #designingthefuture3 Read more: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

ROV SuBastian wants to know if you have voted! We've been nominated for a People's Voice Webby, and you can cast your vote here: vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting...

Have you voted for Schmidt Ocean Institute and the #MarDelPlata science team yet? There's still time! vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting...

#PoetryInOcean: “I speak of underneathedness... I speak for the damselfly, water skeet, mollusk, the caterpillar, the beetle, the spider, the ant. I speak from a time before spinelessness was frowned upon.” Camille T. Dungy’s poetry seemed a lovely way to celebrate tiny marvels in the midwater.

We’ve been nominated for a Webby for the social and community engagement we achieved with the science team during the #MardelPlataCanyon expedition in Argentina! Vote here: vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting...