During the Océano Profundo 2015: Exploring Puerto Rico’s Seamounts, Trenches, and Troughs expedition, we were lucky enough to capture video of this armored sea robin and a brittle star. As we approached, the brittle star climbed on top of the fish. Scientists were pretty sure that the fish would try to eat the brittle star, but as it turns out, it just wanted to dislodge the extra baggage. The brittle star proceeded to climb on top of the sea robin two more times...but never got eaten.
Seeing two deep-sea animals interacting with each other is rare, but it's even more rare when they behave the opposite of how we expect them to. Observations of animals in their natural habitats allows us increase our understanding of the deep.
NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer returns to Puerto Rico in November 2018 -- prepare for live video from the seafloor, capturing more of our ocean's mysteries.
For more from the 2015 expedition, visit: [ Ссылка ]
