Absurd Creatures | This Squid Has One Little Eye and One Giant Eye

(electronic tech music)

Your face isn't symmetrical, and that's okay.

This face really asymmetrical, the strawberry squid

has one tiny eye and one huge one.

This is actually a brilliant adaptation to life

in the deep ocean.

Because the strawberry squid is hunting food

both above and below it.

The big eye looks up, scanning for creatures

casting silhouettes against the dim blue light

filtering down from the surface.

The itty-bitty eye points down, hunting for critters

using bio-luminescence to communicate.

And speaking of bio-luminescence, the strawberry squid

has a glowy trick of its own.

Those pits that make it look like a strawberry,

actually emit light instead of deliciousness,

by firing these up on its underside, the squid can

match the light coming from above.

It's camouflage through and through.

Rendering the squid nearly invisible to anything

watching below

This thing is, the critter's prey

often use the same counterillumination as it's known.

But notice here that the strawberry squid's eye closed

yellow which isn't troubling at all!

This is because it absorbs more blue light.

If it prey's counterillumination is too green

compared to the blue light above, it will stand out.

So there's no avoiding all-seeing eye of the deep.

It's kind of like the Eye of Zoran except not made of fire.

Or pure evil.