MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) | Ink impostors: Out of the darkness of the deep, ghostly clouds take shape @MBARIvideo | Uploaded October 2022 | Updated October 2024, 23 hours ago.
Out of the darkness of the deep, ghostly clouds take shape. What are these mysterious apparitions? When spooked by a predator, a squid may quickly escape, leaving behind a shroud of ink. This decoy distracts so the squid can jet to safety. Their ink shapes take on many forms—clouds, streams, dots, ropes, and more. These animal-look-alike shapes are known as pseudomorphs. We don’t know whether the squids are mimicking other animals, but here are some of our favorite pseudomorphs. As we explore the ocean, we continue to learn more about the animals in the mysterious midnight waters far below.

Animals in pseudomorph clips, in order of appearance:
01:06 Red-lipped comb jelly, Bathyctena chuni
01:13 Woolly siphonophore, Apolemia lanosa
01:24 Top hat jelly, Leuckartiara sp.
01:31 Red-grooved siphonophore, Apolemia rubriversa
01:37 Tower jelly, Neoturris sp.
01:45 Black-eyed squid, Gonatus onyx
01:52 Rocketship siphonophore, Chuniphyes multidentata
01:58 Cockatoo squid, Taonius sp.

More on squid ink: youtu.be/_Q4H-BB7CXI
More cephalopod videos: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8y7x0SoYxpe1pLjI8STAepK7dj6FEn0l
More deep-sea animal Halloween videos: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8y7x0SoYxpfZgtCEVwp37cvCDCEsCVBE

Producer/editor: Kristine Walz
Production team: Raúl Nava, Kyra Schlining, Susan von Thun
Music: Scary Forest by HookSounds Originals from HookSounds.com