Who knew the deep blue sea was also home to cute little oceanic creatures and not just killer whales, great white sharks, and sinfully ugly fish straight from nightmares? Who knew swimming in the ocean was a googly-eyed squid so precious and adorable that Pixar is probably prepping a Finding Nemo spin-off as you read this?
E/V Nautilus recently encountered a stubby squid while exploring off the coast of California and — oh my god I want one! The gloriously grape-colored sea creature was just chilling on the seafloor and minding its own business when the researchers’ live feed spotted him looking like a kid’s lost stuffed animal. The explorers noted the little guy “looks like a cross between an octopus and squid, but is more closely related to cuttlefish,” which isn’t nearly as cute as this cuddle-fish.
As for its googly-eyes, they aren’t just there for our amusement. E/V Nautilus notes stubby squid poke their eyes out so they can easily spot their prey, including our hearts, obviously. “This species spends life on the seafloor, activating a sticky mucus jacket and burrowing into the sediment to camouflage, leaving their eyes poking out to spot prey like shrimp and small fish,” the researchers said in a statement about their cool discovery.
Okay, the “sticky mucus jacket” is less cute, but still!
(via CNN)