Wild & Weird: It's an Octopus. It's a Cuttlefish. It's a… WTF?
Recently a team of researchers aboard the research vessel Nautilus were videoing -- and live-streaming over the internet -- the ocean off the coast of California when they spotted a most unusual googly-eyed critter.
At 3,000 feet beneath the surface, two prominent, almost cartoonish eyes stared up into the camera and appeared on computer screens around the world.
As they comment in real time, the researchers burst into uncontrollable laughter and attempt to guess the kind of critter they're looking at. One of them argues it's an octopus, the other says cuttlefish; one suggests it may be a child's toy tossed into the sea. As it turns out, it's actually an uncommon cephalopod called a "stubby squid" -- which, to confuse matters more, isn't a true squid but a close relative.
Watch our new video of the googly-eyed stubby squid on Facebook or YouTube.