Alien 24

Alien #24 is a Diamond Squid (Thysanoteuthis rhombus), putting on a spectacular color show. Total length ~ 2.5cm.

Like all cephalopods, this squid can change it’s color using chromatophores, and these colors no doubt mean something to this highly-intelligent animal, as color is a primary communication method among cephalopods, but we have yet to crack the code. Diamond squid are generally a deep-living species growing up to a meter, but like many in the Aliens Collection, they ascend towards the surface at night, presumabley to take advantage of a higher concentration of small prey. Quite adverse to my lights, it immediately bolted for the abyss, and as I followed, I eventually had to weigh the risk vs. reward, I quickly exceeded normal depths as indicated by my dive computer sounding an orchestra of alarms, reminding me that eventually, against my desires, I need to let it continue to the abyss alone.