Observation of a Gelatinous Octopod, Haliphron atlanticus, along the Southern West Mariana Ridge: A Unique Cephalopod of Continental Slope and Mesopelagic Communities

Figure 4

Hydrographic characteristics in the upper 800 m in vertical sections plotted from X-CTD data (a, b), and temperature, density, and salinity profiles plotted from data obtained from the CTD onboard the Shinkai 6500 submersible during the dive (c, d) when a ~1 m Haliphron atlanticus was video-recorded at depths from 586 to 599 m. The approximate depth/latitude location where the octopus was seen is marked by stars for each parameter. In (a) only isotherm contours mostly outside the thermocline are shown, and in (b) only isohalines mostly associated with the high-salinity Subtropical Underwater (STUW) are shown.

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)