Extraordinarily Dense Deep Sea Diversity in Palau’s Waters

It’s almost hard to believe that only ten days of exploration left us with so much amazing deep sea footage of a wide diversity of life in the Palau National Marine Sanctuary. From dumbo octopus to unique invertebrates to diverse coral and sponge gardens, enjoy this compilation video from the first leg of Lebuu’s Voyage and see how many critters you can spot in these areas of dense deep-sea biodiversity. 

Did you see the massive coral and sponge assortments in various colors covered in associates like squat lobsters, brittle stars, and shrimp or the super cute “Oreo” fish named after their Latin family name Oreosomatidae? How about the not one, but TWO, sightings of the fan-favorite dumbo octopus? There’s also a Tomopteridae polychaete worm compared lovingly to an “alien” by our Corps of Exploration and a blob of mucus that is more important than you may think to marine filter-feeders. 

Get up close and personal with a filter-feeding feather star and be wowed by a ultra-black rattail fish. Keep watching for spiky pencil sea urchins, Midas-touch shiny golden gooseneck barnacles, and spiny king crabs covered in tiny barnacles. Exploring these never-before-seen areas is important for scientists who want to understand ecosystem dynamics throughout the water column here in Palau. 

The NA167 Lebuu’s Voyage expedition to explore the deep sea inside and around the Palau National Marine Sanctuary was conducted in partnership with the Palau International Coral Reef Center and funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute as part of the US government commitment from the 2022 Our Oceans conference. It was named Lebuu’s Voyage by Palauan stakeholders as part of a strategic effort to advance traditional knowledge and best practices in tandem with scientific understanding.