Photos Of The Deep Sea Beauties Captured During The 2010 Index Satal

Dear people, aren't these animals cute or what? These photos were taken during the 2010 Indonesian Exploration in Sangihe-Talaud island (Index Satal), an RI-US joint deep sea exploration that took place last June.

Branching Coral: a crab with outstretched arms about 8 inches across, which are only observed living on soft coral. Image captured on August 5, 2010 by the Little Hercules ROV at 704-meter depth on a seamount mapped by Baruna Jaya IV

Spiked Crab: Lothodid-spike type crab with spiked holothurian and carnivorous anemone. Image captured at 751-meter depth

Striped Sea Urchin: a stunning example of a striped sea urchin living in the twilight zone. Image captured at 279-meter depth on a site referred to Zona Senja

Funny Fish: some of the stunning imagery collected by the Little Hercules ROV

All images are courtesy of NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program, Index Satal 2010. To see more images, click here.