Secrets of the sea: Fascinating pictures from mesmerising collection of photos from the ocean's depths

By EMMA REYNOLDS

Dangers of the deep: The giant pelagic jellyfish grows to twice the size of a fully grown man with a nasty sting in its tentacles

These fascinating underwater pictures reveal the full dazzling spectrum of life deep under the ocean.
The awe-inspiring photographs taken by Bob Cranston include a close encounter with a rare giant jellyfish that is twice the size of a fully grown man and a shimmering image of a five-foot-long jumbo Humboldt squid.
His collection also includes amazing pictures of an inquisitive northern elephant seal bull - which grows up to 14 feet in length - and the extremely rare southern right whale.

Wondrous sight: Juvenile fish shelter among tentacles of a giant pelagic jellyfish, Channel Islands, California, East Pacific Ocean



Glowing creature: A diver and a jumbo or Humboldt squid at night in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico, Pacific Ocean

Mr Cranston began diving at the age of 13 and has lived on his own commercial fishing boat on the California coast for two years.
He has dedicated his life to underwater photography, while also working as a consultant to the US Military Special Forces, training military divers and developing specialised diving equipment.
The 56-year-old now focuses on underwater cinematography for television and Imax film companies.
He has an impressive seven prestigious Emmy awards for his stunning work.

Blue moon: A northern elephant seal bull, in kelp forest, California, East Pacific Ocean

Speaking from his home in California, Mr Cranston recalled his incredible encounter with the terrifying-looking pelagic jellyfish, or Chrysaora achlyos.
He had been diving in the Pacific Ocean off the Los Coronados Islands, near Mexico, when he stumbled across a group of the monster stingers by accident.
He admitted he and diving friend Howard Hall, 58, who can be seen in the picture, got a little too close for comfort - and suffered a sting as a result.
He said: 'These are wonderful, big, colourful jellyfish.

Strange images: A rare southern right whale with divers, Patagonia, Argentina, South Atlantic

Speaking from his home in California, Mr Cranston recalled his incredible encounter with the terrifying-looking pelagic jellyfish, or Chrysaora achlyos.
He had been diving in the Pacific Ocean off the Los Coronados Islands, near Mexico, when he stumbled across a group of the monster stingers by accident.
He admitted he and diving friend Howard Hall, 58, who can be seen in the picture, got a little too close for comfort - and suffered a sting as a result.
He said: 'These are wonderful, big, colourful jellyfish.

Years of exploration: A black or giant pelagic jellyfish, Chrysaora achlyos, drifts over reef and is attacked by Garibaldi in the Channel Islands, California

'We dived with them for around two hours until we had no more air in our tanks.
'They are very rare, appearing near California only every ten years, and scientists were surprised and happy to see our photographs.'
He added: 'We were all very happy to get these rare photographs but sorry to discover they have a painful sting in their tentacles.
'There were many jellyfish and three divers in the water that day - we got stung.'

source: dailymail

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Things that go 'bonk' in the night: Bisexual deep-sea squid can't tell who's who in the murky depths

By EMILY ALLEN

Love is blind: A female Octopoteuthis deletron is pictured. White dots on the dorsal arms show spermatangia is present on this squid

Male deep-sea squid end up mating with members of their own sex as they cannot see properly in the murky depths of the ocean, scientists believe.

Researchers discovered the mishap using a remote-controlled submarine in the Monterey canyon off California.

Their footage showed males belonging to the squid species Octopoteuthis deletron struggled to distinguish between potential mates and members of the same sex 800 metres down in the dimly lit Pacific.


Fun in the dark: The Octopoteuthis deletron struggle to distinguish between potential mates and members of the same sex

However, instead of evolving over the years to work out which squid are females, scientists found males adopt a strategy of mating with any deep sea squid they come across.

This is because some squid can drift for a lifetime under the sea without ever bumping into a potential sex-partner, experts believe.

Researchers said in a study published in the journal Biology Letters that males: 'routinely and indiscriminately mates with both males and females.'

Calling it 'a shot in the dark', the team realised the cost involved in wasting sperm on another male were probably smaller than the costs of developing courtship or the ability to discriminate between sexes.

In the study, they wrote: 'In the deep, dark habitat where O. deletron lives, potential mates are few and far between.'

During opposite-sex mating, males use a long tentacle-like appendage - a penis of sorts - to deposit small sperm-laden sacs, called spermatangia, onto females.


source: dailymail

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Jet-propelled calamari: Rare photos of squid species that can leap through the air to dodge predators

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

The eight inch-long blue creatures - Todarodes pacificus in Latin - are able to 'fly' through the air after leaping to avoid predators


These remarkable photos show one of the most bizarre sights in the natural world.
A British photographer captured a particular type of squid which use jet propulsion to leap out of the sea and fly up to 65ft.

The flying squid swim in shoals and leap from the surface of the water and are often mistaken for the more common flying fish.

The squid actually fly looking backwards, with their tentacles dangling behind them and fins acting like wings, keeping them balanced in the air.


The squid was spotted off the coast of Japan

'These were taken about 1,000 kilometres off the Bonin Islands in the north Pacific, just in Japanese waters.

'There was a group of about 20 flying squid and they sensed danger from the bow wave of the boat and their defence mechanism is to leap out of the water.'

He added: 'However, there is a bird called the red-footed booby - which is like a gannet - that waits for them to leap from the water and then picks them off in the air.

'They have a lot of predators and are an important source of food in Japan. They are prolific reproduces and only live for about a year.


Four of the squid are seen hopping above the waves


source :dailymail

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