Dealfish
Tracey Sutton and VIMS graduate student CJ Sweetman hold a 5-foot dealfish collected in a trawl net above the mid-Atlantic Ridge during a summer 2009 MAR-ECO expedition.
Whalefish
The "missing link" specimen of a juvenile female whalefish collected by Tracey Sutton at 3,000 feet deep off Africa.
Photo by Solvin Zankl.
Jewel Squid
A deep-sea jewel squid from a 2004 MAR-ECO cruise to the North Atlantic. The name reflects the many light-producing organs that appear as dark dots on the squid's body, head, and arms. This squid is eaten by deep-diving whales.
Photo courtesy of Michael Vecchione, NOAA
Dr. Deborah Steinberg's team uses a MOCNESS plankton net to help collect zooplankton and estimate their abundance.
Sea urchins
These sea urchins were photographed with a sediment-profiling camera in the Scotia Sea, Antarctica, at a depth of 6,414 feet. This photo graces the cover of the May 17 2007 issue of Nature.
Photo by Robert J. Diaz.