Just off Indonesia’s Bali Sea, a deep-sea camera rig captured footage that has drawn attention from marine enthusiasts and experts alike.

Independent underwater filmmaker Barny Dillarstone dropped the camera more than 200 meters below the surface near Nusa Penida, an island locals describe as having a “history of demons and sorcery,” LADbible reports.

He wasn’t looking for fame. He wanted answers.

A camera was lowered more than 200 meters into the Bali Sea.

Footage Shows Creatures Rarely Seen Alive

The remote camera wasn’t part of a scientific research vessel. It was a simple setup attached to rope and weights, lowered into deep, dark water with bait to attract wildlife. Digital Camera World explains the rig cost about US $400 and used an Insta360 action camera to record the descent and life around it.

Among the highlights was a purple eagle ray, a creature seldom filmed in its natural habitat. As Digital Camera World reports, this ray species has likely never been caught on live video before.

Other encounters have drawn even greater curiosity.

The footage was captured near Nusa Penida, Indonesia.

Unidentified Organisms Emerge

In the footage captured over the course of two nights, Dillarstone recorded animals that marine experts have been unable to identify. ECOticias reports that scientists reviewing the video cannot match every creature to known species.

This isn’t just sharks and rays on film. Some images show slender eel-like forms and odd silhouettes that don’t fit familiar marine classifications. PetaPixel describes how YouTube uploads of the footage include scenes that specialist communities call “unknown deep-sea species.”

The sheer diversity of life at these depths underscores how little of the ocean floor humans have documented.

Public and Scientific Reactions Diverge

Some marine biologists caution that footage alone isn’t enough to formally name new species. But they do note that underwater recordings like this can highlight gaps in our knowledge of deep ocean ecosystems.

Citizen science plays a role too. These affordable rigs, once the province of hobbyists, now produce evidence that prompts fresh questions about marine biodiversity.

Dillarstone himself speculated that some of the animals he filmed could be “species new to science.”

LADbible reports that even he was unsure what certain creatures might be.

What This Means for Ocean Exploration

Deep ocean research is expensive and technically complex. But cheap, off-the-shelf technology is starting to change the game.

Only a sliver of the world’s oceans has been explored. Efforts like these offer glimpses into the unknown. They also remind us that under every wave lies a deep world we barely understand.