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Home , Argonauta hians, Jellynose fish, Lophius piscatorius, Sea snail, Taal Volcano, Tentacle

NIGHT Every night, in across the globe, sensational alien-like creatures rise from the depths to feed. Welcome to the Night Ocean, where an entirely new cast of characters comes to life.

Images © Magnus Lundgren / naturepl.com BLANKET (Tremoctopus gracilis)

Looking like something out of a science fiction movie, this blanket octopus is pictured in full opalescent display. Little is known about the rarely- encountered creature, which ranges from the depths of the dark zone to surface waters (where this female was seen in all her psychedelic glory).

Anilao, the . ZOOPLANKTON

Zooplankton is made up of a staggering diversity of – from single-celled organisms to the larvae of [1], anemones [2] and mollucs [3], as well as [4], and jellies.

1

The zooplankton – in conjunction with hordes of photosynthetic phytoplankton, makes up the planktonic food supply upon which almost all oceanic organisms 2 depend. When the plankton rise, so do the deep ocean predators (pictured: a juvenile ). The vertical migration influences our world more than many of us know. The daily movements of zooplankton help remove carbon from the atmosphere and surface waters, transporting it quickly and efficiently down into the ocean depths, where it can remain for centuries. Given that climate 3 change is already leading to ocean warming and acidification—a trend Every night an astonishing drama from the pages of science fiction. that is expected to accelerate— occurs in the world’s oceans: a The sheer biomass of the small carbon cycling provides the great vertical migration, in which drifting creatures – collectively impetus for much of today’s billions of organisms respond to known as zooplankton – renders zooplankton migration research. the coming darkness. Like marine their nightly trek the largest Scientists have also claimed that snow, they rise from the seafloor migration on earth; a living haze so the vertical pumping effect created and float up towards the ocean’s dense that during World War II it when billions of and other the surface to feed. confounded the U.S. Navy’s sonar, animals travel up and down the This world feels extra-terrestrial, leading to the belief that enemy water column has as much impact with peculiar inhabitants that submarines might be able hide on ocean circulation as tides and 4 appear to have walked straight within it. winds. AFRICAN POMPANO WUNDERPUS (Alectis ciliaris) (Wunderpus photogenicus) It’s not often that a photographer finds a new This is a juvenile wunderpus, frontier. For Magnus, every a newly discovered octopus “blackwater” dive is an outer that was formally described space-like journey into a by scientists in 2006. As a new and unexplored realm, juvenile, it looks completely in which strange beings like different to the adult stage. this juvenile African pompano Its glass-like body makes the appear from the dark depths. wunderpus hard to detect and The adult fish can grow to its transparency increases its massive sizes - over 80cm chances of survival out in the from mouth to tail tip - but open ocean. the swaying tentacles make it appear many times larger.

Balayan Bay, , the Philippines. Balayan Bay, Luzon, the Philippines. BROWN PAPER (Argonauta hians)

The brown paper nautilus is a “surfing“ specialist that hitches a ride on everything from swimming jellyfish to drifting plastic waste. The nautilus seems to understand that catching a ride on a jellyfish has certain advantages: it uses the hydroid as an active form of protection and also as a weapon to sting small prey. The nautilus belongs to an of pelagic (open water) . It is only the females that produce the paper-thin shell, which is used both to regulate buoyancy and as a brood chamber for the nautilus’ eggs. There is a large size difference between the sexes: the female (pictured on the right) grows up to 12 times longer and 600 times heavier than the male (on the left). The small male only mates once, whereas the female can have offspring many times during her life.

Balayan Bay, Luzon, the Philippines.

More than eighty percent of our many fascinating strategies that ocean is unmapped, unobserved, help pelagic (open water) and unexplored. Many animals are eat, or avoid being eaten. totally unknown to science, and Travelling, or “surfing” on other their behaviour is an even greater host animals and using them as a mystery. As an eye witness in a combined vehicle and a form of largely unknown world, Magnus protection is one such strategy experiences at close hand how seen in octopuses and other these strange organisms behave molluscs such as shellfish. The and interact with each other. While same strategy is used by parasites, taking photos, he has witnessed which attach themselves to fish. TREVALLY (Carangidae sp.)

Many fish species from completely different families around the world have come to the same conclusion: it’s a good idea to live inside a cnidarian when you’re really small. This juvenile trevally is in constant contact with its jellyfish host. It seems that the fish adopts the same colour as the barrel jellyfish. Magnus found red, pink, yellow and brown jellyfish, where the fish always imitated the same colour scheme. This type of jellyfish has been served as a delicacy in China for the past 2,000 years. The fish is not stung by the jellyfish’s stinging cells (nematocysts) but other animals that come into contact with them are.

Balayan Bay, Luzon, the Philippines. SCALLOPED RIBBONFISH (Zu cristatus)

Like a fantasy vision, this juvenile scalloped ribbonfish, just 6 cm in size, appeared in prime condition, waving its extraordinary elongated fin- rays. The species is rarely seen alive, despite being found circumglobally in all tropical oceans. It ranges as deep as 90 metres and may grow to over one metre in length. Sometimes called “earthquake fish”, it is popularly believed to appear following major earthquake events. This individual was spotted in January 2020, several days after Magnus experienced a 4.6 magnitude earthquake while diving at night in . A week prior, on the island of Luzon, Taal (picture below) had erupted, flinging ash nine miles into the atmosphere and spewing fountains of lava. The eruption triggered a series of intense earthquakes, which Magnus describes as ‘a long explosion, with many small ones following.’

Anilao, Batangas, the Philippines.

Taal volcano erupting on 12th January 2020 MAUVE STINGER ()

A single jellyfish makes a tiny ripple in the world’s oceans but when millions upon millions of them move vertically, they help to mix up ocean waters. Researchers placed a fluorescent dye in front of a jellyfish. To their surprise, rather than swimming through it, the jellyfish appeared to pull the dyed water along with it. In this way, jelly migrations help pull nutrients up from deeper waters, while transporting oxygen down from the surface.

Between Pico and Faial, the ZEBRA MANTIS SHRIMP Azores, Portugal. (Lysiosquillina maculata)

This is the world’s biggest mantis shrimp, which here is seen swimming just under the surface at night. Magnus was photographing beside a Bagan boat, which was using bright light to attract fish. Whale follow the fishing JELLYNOSE FISH boats too. While Magnus photographed the sharks, he (Atelopus sp.) was attacked by this spearing mantis shrimp, which felt it Little is known about the owned some of the by-catch biology of this species. As an floating in the water. adult, it has a bulbous snout made up of gelatinous tissue (hence ‘jelly nose’), and it lives Triton Bay, Papua Barat, and feeds around the sea bed . at depths greater than 200 metres. The juvenile (pictured) lacks the snout, and occupies open water.

Balayan Bay, Luzon, the Philippines. JUVENILE (Unidentified)

A juvenile eel curls up like a cobra to confuse predators and avoid looking like a protein- rich fish. Its transparent body makes the eel extra difficult to discover. European also have a transparent stage, called a glass eel. OVAL (Sepioteuthis lessoniana) Balayan Bay, Luzon, the Philippines. This squid snuck up to Magnus’s camera and “talked” with his underwater strobes for a good 20 minutes. The oval squid is known for its complex body language, communicating by manipulating the colour of its skin and expressing a dynamic range of body patterns. JUVENILE TREVALLY Green Island, . (Caranx sp.)

This tiny fish is living in and around a pyrosome (a colonial tunicate comprised of hundreds or sometimes thousands of individuals joined by a gelatinous tunic). Pyrosomes usually live in the upper layers of the open ocean, working in unison to propel the colony through the water.

Balayan Bay, Luzon, the Philippines. AFRICAN POMPANO (Alectis ciliaris)

This type of trevally is a true cosmopolitan and is found in all tropical oceans worldwide. Adult individuals often hunt along the coastlines but the stunning juveniles live in the open ocean and their long gleaming blue fins resemble the stinging tentacles of a jellyfish.

Balayan Bay, Luzon, the Philippines.

LION’S MANE DIAMOND SQUID FLYING SEA MONKFISH (Melibe leonina) (Thysanoteuthis rhombus) ( sp.) ( piscatorius) Most nudibranchs (sea ) scour the ocean As an adult, this squid that can reach 1 m in A white angel out in space. That was the first A powerful monkfish photographed from floor for food, but the unusual lion’s mane length and weigh up to 30 kg. Unusually, it lives impression Magnus had when he found this underneath. Note the small bone-like pelvic swims in plankton-rich waters, using its large in pairs. If one is caught by fishermen, the other free-swimming marine snail. It is protected by fins that the fish uses to “walk” along the hood-like mouth to scoop in crustaceans. will remain in the area until it is also caught. an armour-like shell. ocean floor. God’s Pocket, Vancouver Island, Canada. Balayan Bay, Luzon, the Philippines. Green Island, Taiwan. Saltstraumen, Bodö, Norway. BOBTAIL SQUID LARVAL BATFISH (Euprymna berryi) (Unidentified species)

The hummingbird bobtail Despite a distinctive body squid moves by flapping its shape reminiscent of the Dumbo-like fins or flying startship Enterprise, this tiny backwards using jet propulsion larval fish - just 25mm long by shooting water through its - is unidentified. However, it . The squid can create belongs to the Ogcocephalidae its own light, powered by - a family of adapted bioluminescent bacteria. The for a lifestyle of crawling about blue glow helps to obscure its on the seafloor as adults. They outline to predators lurking are sometimes referred to below—a trait known as as batfishes, handfishes, or counter-illumination. seabats.

Kenting National Park, Taiwan. Balayan Bay, Luzon, the Philippines.

SNAKE BLENNY (Xiphasia setifer)

The snake blenny is found in tropical and warm temperate marine waters of the Indo- West Pacific. It is a bottom- dweller, found in tube-like burrows along soft, muddy seafloors. As a nocturnal species, the fish rises to the surface at night to feed. The pale orange mass close to the head of this individual is a parasite.

Balayan Bay, Luzon, the Philippines. LARVAL CLEANER SHRIMP (Unidentified species)

Cleaner shrimp are so called because they remove parasites from fish. Their ‘clients’ benefit from better health and reduced stress, while the shrimps gain the nutritional value of the parasites.

Green Island, Taiwan.

FLYING FISH (Cypselurus sp.)

The so-called flying fish has to outrun some of the fastest predators in the ocean, such as the marlin, swordfish, and dorado. These fast- moving predators have driven evolution and equipped the flying fish with its remarkable ability. The ‘wings’ of these fish are enlarged pectoral fins, which enable them to glide when they jump out of the water to escape predators.

Longdong, Taiwan. HYDROZOAN (Unidentified species)

Hydrozoa are a taxonomic class of individually very small, predatory animals related to sea anemones, , and jellyfish. There are about 3,700 known species. Most hydrozoans have three basic life-cycle stages. It starts with a tiny free-swimming larva, which then settles and metamorphoses into a stage. The polyps grow in colonies and, in turn, liberate a sexually reproductive medusa (as pictured here). The jellyfish-like body consists of a domed ‘umbrella’ ringed by tentacles.

Green Island, Taiwan.

THORNY SEAHORSE (Hippocampus histrix)

The pelagic zone is a giant nursery, where young seahorses can attach themselves to floating seaweed - or sometimes to a piece of plastic - and grow up at a safe distance from the harsh reality of the reef.

Balayan Bay, Luzon, the Philippines. JELLYFISH (Octotiara rusellii)

Jellyfish have no brain, heart, bones or eyes. Their bag-like body contains a stomach that doubles as a reproductive system, and a mouth that doubles as an anus. The rest is mostly water and nerves. The tentacles are armed with tiny, stinging cells that allow the jellyfish to stun or paralyse its prey before gobbling it up.

Balayan Bay, Luzon, the Philippines.

COMB JELLY (Ocyropsis fusca)

Comb jellies are swimming carnivores which locomote by beating rows of tiny, iridescent hair-like structures called cilia. But don’t be fooled by their beauty: Comb jellies—known scientifically as ctenophores — are formidable predators with ultra-fast strikes, hoovering up all manner of zooplankton like copepods and other tiny crustaceans and digesting them alive.

Balayan Bay, Luzon, the Philippines. SEA ELEPHANT (Pterotracheoides)

A sea snail with a transparent body and shell, which it loses in the adult stage. The foot has evolved into a swimming fin that produces motion through undulation.

Balayan Bay, Luzon, the Philippines. MOTOTI OCTOPUS (Octopus mototi)

This rather small octopus can be easily identified by the blue rings beneath its eyes, which it flashes when threatened. It is usually found on the seabed, hiding in shells or sponges. To find it in the pelagic zone is rare. This one was found riding on a colony of salps (gelatinous animals also known as sea squirts).

Balayan Bay, Luzon, the Philippines.

AMPHIPOD & HYDROID (Unidentified species)

Often mistaken for the tiny shrimp which they resemble, amphipods are a separate group of marine crustaceans. They’ve been found at depths of more than 9,100 m (30,000 feet). This one is riding on the jellyfish-like medusa of a hydrozoan.

Vaderoarna, Sweden. BLACK-BLOTCHED PORCUPINEFISH (Diodon liturosus)

This species has erectile spines on the head and body. Like all members of the family, it can COMMON STARFISH inflate its body with water, and turn itself into a very spiny (Asterias rubens) ball.

As Magnus investigated a deep cave, the exhaled air from his Green Island, Taiwan. SCUBA equipment hit the roof and dislodged dozens of small starfish from a musselbed. Floating gracefully through LARVAL MORAY EEL the water column, Magnus was able to capture this one in (Family: Muraenidae) motion before it settled again on the seafloor. Life under the sea can be short if you don’t have an Saltstraumen, Bodo, Norway. effective form of . For animals in the open ocean, with no place to hide, the best camouflage is to disguise yourself as water. The transparent body of this larval eel allows it to partially blend into its surroundings.

Balayan Bay, Luzon, the Philippines. GHOST (Chimaera monstrosa )

The mysterious ghost shark (also known as a chimaera, rat fish, spook fish or rabbit fish) has an impressive front equipped with two shining green eyes like floodlights. This photo shows the barbed venomous spine attached to its back. Ghost sharks live at between 200 and 1,000 metres depth, but Magnus has found a place where they can be encountered by scuba divers at 10 metres depth.

Trondheim Fjord, Norway.

LEFTEYE FLOUNDER (Bothidae sp.)

All start their life as a classically designed fish that swims upright with one eye on each side of its head. When they grow up and leave the (Family: Acanthuridae) open sea for a life on the ocean floor, one eye moves across to Juvenile acanthurids - a family either the left or right side and of fish with over 70 known the fish becomes a flatfish. species - differ considerably from the adult form. The Balayan Bay, Luzon, young fish is transparent and the Philippines. scaleless. This unidentified species will probably develop into a surgeonfish or a unicornfish.

Kenting National Park, Taiwan. NEON FLYING SQUID (Ommastrephes bartramii)

The characteristic inking behaviour of octopuses and squid is largely regarded as a defence mechanism that helps them to escape predation. However, when this squid was photographed, it was inking in pulsing motions on the spot, then hiding in the resulting cloud, using it as a smokescreen to ambush prey.

Balayan Bay, Luzon, the Philippines. YOUNG FISH INSIDE LARVAL ANEMONE A DRIFTING SALP Sea anemones are predatory A tiny fish has moved inside a animals, related to corals and solitary salp, which is a pelagic jellyfish. A typical sea squirt. In its new home, the is a single polyp attached to fish is safe and has an exclusive a hard surface by an adhesive 360-degree glassed-in foot on its base. Before they veranda. If interesting feeding settle, however, the larvae opportunities arise outside, the are free-swimming, and can fish just has to swim out and be found in the pelagic zone catch a snack. alongside other planktonic life, such as this pelagic shrimp. Balayan Bay, Luzon, the Philippines. Balayan Bay, Luzon, the Philippines. BLANKET OCTOPUS (Tremoctopus gracilis)

The blanket octopus is perhaps one of the most mysterious sea creatures. It gets its name from the colourful membrane connecting the dorsal and dorsolateral arms of the adult females – which can be unfurled and retracted at will. The blanket is deployed to make the octopus look bigger, and perhaps to help it ensnare prey. The species lives its entire lifecycle in the open ocean which makes it not only hard to find, but even harder to study in its natural habitat. Much of what we know about it is speculation.

The difference in the sexes is extreme. The males have a (the bulbous body section, minus the arms) measuring 20mm in length – a mere 5% of the female body length. The male pictured here is carrying a jellyfish tentacle. Not only is this species immune to jellyfish stings, it will actively rip the tentacles from species such as the Man o’War, holding them with its lateral arms to be used as offensive or defensive weapons.

Balayan Bay, Luzon, the Philippines. HOW IT WAS DONE

The technology and method used for these images is called black water macro photography. It involves the photographer diving at night in deep water and floating freely between the surface and 40 metres depth, with the ocean floor some 200 to 2,000 MAGNUS LUNGREN metres below. The photographer, plus a safety diver, follow a ‘downline’ Magnus, born in Sweden, has with light stations placed every five been taking images for as long metres to attract plankton. as he can remember. He is widely It is a dynamic situation in a regarded as one of the world’s midnight-black world, where the leading underwater photographers, drifting downline, tiny subjects and specialising in natural history and the photographer are in constant science-related topics. From remote motion. Everything is ultimately tropical reefs to freezing cold oceans, compressed into the moment when his images have been awarded the photo is taken. Image sharpness in the world’s most prestigious depends on an accuracy of one photography competitions. millimetre. To assist with focus, He is a frequent lecturer on fast underwater flashes and special aquatic conservation, underwater search-and-focus lights are used. photography and marine adventures. Safe black water diving requires Magnus is honoured to work in the special diving skills, and the field of conservation photography; to confidence to voyage underwater in a inspire and visualise the beauty that mysterious, pitch-dark world. Sounds is still out there to protect. are amplified, and you can only see ‘‘It is all about positive change. An as far as the end of your torch beam. image may lure a person’s mind Hovering over the abyss, you never and move the heart. I always use know what beguiling creatures the my own passion for nature to inject night ocean will call to the surface. fuel into my work. I truly believe that the emotional power of great photography can make a difference.’’

THORNY SEAHORSE (Hippocampus histrix)

Despite being a widespread coastal seahorse that occurs throughout much of the Indo-West Pacific, this species is endangered. It is caught by small- targeted and as bycatch in shrimp Contact: trawls. Other threats include habitat loss from destructive fishing practices, coastal The wunderpus, with its see-through head, development, and pollution. [email protected] speckled arms and big eyes, photographed at night with a slow shutter speed. +44 (0)117 9114675 Balayan Bay, Luzon, the Philippines.