Biologists just spotted the cutest 'stubby squid' ever in the deep sea
You know what's almost as good as finding a bright magenta, googly-eyed stubby squid just chilling by itself 900 metres deep in the ocean? Listening to a bunch of biologists lose it over the fact that they'd just stumbled on something that legit looks like a cartoon. If this doesn't make you want to be a marine biologist, nothing will.
The bright-eyed critter was spotted by underwater rovers attached to the research vessel, E/V Nautilus, off the coast of California, and after some debate, biologists watching from the surface identified it as some kind of cuttlefish.
It's been since identified as the stubby squid (Rossia pacifica) - a particularly rare sight in the wild.
Interestingly, you might think the biologists got it wrong when they said it's definitely a cuttlefish, but despite their name, and the fact that they belong to the bobtail squid order of cephalopods, these creatures are more closely related to cuttlefish than they are to squid or octopuses.
Also known as dumpling squid, bobtail squid have a rounder mantle (or body) than cuttlefish, and no cuttlebone, which is like hard, brittle internal shell. They have the same number of tentacles as a squid, though - eight with suckers, plus two long arms for grabbing prey.
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more, incl. video: http://www.sciencealert.com/biologists-just-spotted-the-cutest-stubby-squid-ever-in-the-deep-sea
Yes, it's a squeee! thread in the Science Group. 
Click on the links in the article to learn more about stubby, or bobtail, squids.
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I want one!
It's so cute!!!!!!!!! Almost doesn't look real...
❤️
