The “piglet squid” is not a new creature. It was first seen in 1907. In science, it is called Helicocranchia pfefferi, but in everyday language, it is called the banded piglet squid. The tiny creatures are only about 4 inches long. They live in the mesopelagic zone of the ocean, which is about 650 feet below the surface. The team says in the video that the translucent piglet squid looks like it’s wearing lipstick and has long eyelashes. The squid also gives the team a full beauty shot before turning around and zooming off into the ocean.
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The body is almost completely transparent, and when you look at it, you can just barely see the organs inside, which gives it a smile-like appearance. Most of the time, when the piglet squid is seen from submersibles, its head seems upside down. But it’s not at all clear why they do this.
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Piglet squids are in the family Cranchiidae, which has about 60 species of glass squids. Surprisingly, all glass squids commonly display the strange habit of swimming upside-down, which is why these piglet squids appear upside-down. While the reason is unknown, it gives them the appearance of having a weird mop of hair with their arms and tentacles flowing freely above their eyes.
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