Marine biologists respond in awe as a gulper eel (Eurypharynx pelecanoides) inflates its pouch-like mouth, apparently as a defensive strategy (link to YouTube).
This is one of the first clear videos of the gulper eel, shot from a deep-sea rover on a previously unexplored seamount at the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, northwest of Hawaii.
Also called a pelican eel because of its expandable jaws, the gulper has a light-emitting organ on the tip of its tail and can grow up to 6 feet long.
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