Faceless Eels in the Cook Islands Deep

Spooky season must be here because while exploring the seafloor in the Cook Islands, our team came across these two eerie but amazing faceless cusk eels (Typhlonus nasus). Navigating the world guided by their large nostrils, Typhlonus eels live as deep as 5,100 meters. While these deep-sea swimmers' bulbous faces appear to lack eyes, juveniles have been found to have tiny eyes hidden deep beneath the skin. Capturing these creepy critters on camera hasn’t been easy, but deep diving capability of ROV Little Hercules means we get to meet these representatives of Cook Islands' biodiversity, for the first time.

The NA176 Deep Sea Habitats of the Cook Islands expedition is using the ROV, mapping, and telepresence systems of E/V Nautilus to explore deep-sea areas prioritized by the Cook Islands government and local stakeholders. All collected data will be made publicly available to stimulate further exploration, research, and help support ongoing local management and future decision-making for the Cook Islands by Cook Islanders.