Far out at sea, a group of marine biologists are gathered around a screen. A pinky-purple blob swims out from the gloom and floats into view. \u201cThat\u2019s amazing!\u201d exclaims one of them. But what is it?<\/p>\n
Using a remotely operated vehicle, they have filmed what is commonly known as a headless chicken monster (Enypniastes eximia). This deep-sea creature is a sea cucumber<\/a> but is also referred to as a \u2018Spanish dancer\u2019 due to its graceful movements.<\/p>\n While many sea cucumbers can swim, most get around by crawling on the seafloor. The headless chicken monster, however, is different as it can swim much longer distances by pulsing its fin-like \u2018flaps\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cI love sea cucumbers,\u201d says Guadalupe \u2018Lupita\u2019 Bribiesca-Contreras, an applied scientist at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, in the footage. \u201cIf they get upset, they can expel their whole gut and they still survive \u2013 they can regenerate the gut.\u201d<\/p>\n The footage was filmed in 2023, when filmmaker Eleanor Mortimer joined a group of deep-sea scientists on their research vessel. They were studying the Clarion-Clipperton Zone<\/a>, which is one of the most remote regions on Earth. It takes around 12 days to reach from the nearest edge of land.<\/p>\n Guadalupe \u2018Lupita\u2019 Bribiesca-Contreras, Maria Belen Arias\u00a0and Lucas King\u00a0are just some of the scientists onboard the research vessel studying the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. Here, in a clip from the documentary film How Deep Is Your Love, they discover a headless chicken monster. Video credit: How Deep Is Your Love \/ Eleanor Mortimer<\/p>\n This vast abyssal plain is in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Mexico and covers 4.5 million square kilometres (1.7 million square miles). It has an average depth of 5,000 metres. While it\u2019s thought to contain extraordinary biodiversity, little is known about it.<\/p>\n Into the deep<\/p>\n