BackRare deep-sea creature ‘gulper eel’ spotted with inflated stomach after recent meal
The Schmidt Ocean Institute had said that while surfacing from their last dive, they spotted an unexpected animal-- a gulper eel
PremiumA rare deep-sea creature with engorged belly from recent meal was spotted off the coast of Costa Rica, said the Schmidt Ocean Institute. The creature was spotted by remote-operated submarine.
Scientists at the Schmidt Ocean Institute piloted a remotely operated vehicle to explore octopuses along the Dorado Outcrop near Costa Rica, the institute had said in a news release.
The institute on June 20 on Twitter had said that while surfacing from their last dive, they spotted an unexpected animal-- a gulper eel.
Gulper eels are also known as pelican eels. They are known for their large, scoop-like jaw which they can expand to swallow prey.
This particular gulper eel had very recently eaten meal, the institute had said. Its “balloon-like" stomach was still inflated with undigested prey, potentially a “squid or swarm of shrimp."
“We all stopped our conversation to gather around the monitor together to watch this amazing animal," Beth Orcutt, the vice president of research at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, an organization involved in the research project, had told McClatchy News on July 4.
“They have been seen ‘inflating’ their mouths," the institute said on Facebook. “…but this is the first time we believe anyone has had an encounter so soon after a meal."
Diva Amon, the first scientist to identify the animal, “expressed that this was one of the most remarkable events of her career," Orcutt said.
Amon had told LiveScience that “in all our combined years of exploring the deep ocean, this was the first gulper eel for all of us … And to see it with a remarkably full tummy was the icing on the cake."
“Getting to glimpse this extremely rare animal behavior in the final moments of our last dive was an affirmation of the amazing deep-sea biodiversity in Costa Rica’s waters," Orcutt had said.
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