Daily MOS: The Piglet Squid

Image source: practicalfishkeeping.co.uk

I read recently that every nerd has a favorite deep sea critter that they’re dying to tell you about. So.

Today’s Moment of Science… the piglet squid.

Just freeking look at this floof of the sea. This chonkeh bae. This happy good boi. Teensy little bloops at about four inches in length, you have to dive several hundred feet below the ocean’s surface to find the Helicocranchia pfefferi. They tend to venture out deeper as they age, known to be found at depths of 6,500 feet.

Its tentacles are fashioned above its eyes, styled into a fabulous ‘do to go with eyeliner game that can’t be matched. They’re mostly translucent in youth, allowing us a direct view of their itsy little innards. They’re known to pick up a reddish brown hue as they age. Reportedly ‘sluggish’ swimmers, they manage to maintain buoyancy with a balance of ammonium ions in their body fluid.

We don’t know a ton about them, but millions of years of evolution plastered smiles on their faces, rendered prehensile tentacles into boy band hair, and left them so goddamn naked that they’re translucent. Living their best lives, one day of perfect eyeliner at a time.

This has been your Moment of Science, pretty sure I should go back to vacationing and spending more time with my other favorite sea critter, the Cheddar Bay Hit This.

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About SciBabe 375 Articles
Yvette d'Entremont, aka SciBabe, is a chemist and writer living in North Hollywood with her roommate, their pack of dogs, and one SciKitten. She bakes a mean gluten free chocolate chip cookie and likes glitter more than is considered healthy for a woman past the age of seven.

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