Rare Sassy Cephalopod Beguiles California Scientists (VIDEO)

LOS ANGELES, CA — The phrase "creature of the deep" conjures images of deep sea monsters, otherworldly beasts sometimes known to bedevil sailors on the rare occasions they emerge from their depths. It’s the stuff of legends.

So scientists exploring the deep sea off the coast of California were more than a little surprised to discover a creature that can only be described as adorable.

As one scientist put it, “It's like some little kid dropped their toy."

What appears to be a googly-eyed purple squeeze toy is actually a stubby squid found by the crew of the Exploration Vessel Nautilus 2,950 feet down off the coast of Big Sur.

According to the crew at Nautilus, “The stubby squid (Rossia pacifica) looks like a cross between an octopus and squid, but is more closely related to cuttlefish. This species spends life on the seafloor, activating a sticky mucus jacket and burrowing into the sediment to camouflage, leaving their eyes poking out to spot prey like shrimp and small fish.”

Video of the crew’s adorable discovery quickly went viral Tuesday. The scientists ooh and ah and laugh like little kids when they realize what they’ve discovered.

“He has weird eyes,” says one crew member

“It looks like googly eyes,” adds another.

“It looks like they’re painted on,” says one scientist with a laugh.

In the end, however, they reached a scientific consensus.

“He’s awesome, though” says one crew member.

“He is awesome,” the others agree.