Haunting blood-red squid with large hooks drifts through Antarctic ocean's midnight zone in world-first video
An elusive species of deep-sea squid has been seen alive for the first time off Antarctica, National Geographic has announced.
Researchers filmed the Antarctic gonate squid (Gonatus antarcticus) drifting through the black waters of the ocean's midnight zone, 7,060 feet (2,152 meters) below the surface, on Dec. 25, 2024.
As first reported by National Geographic, researchers spotted the 3-foot-long (0.9 m) blood-red creature using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), which had been deployed from the Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel, the R/V Falkor (too). They sent the footage to Kat Bolstad, head of the Lab for Cephalopod Ecology and Systematics at Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, who confirmed it was an Antarctic gonate squid.
"This is, to the best of my knowledge, the first live footage of this animal worldwide," Bolstad told National Geographic.
Related: Elusive colossal squid finally caught on camera 100 years after discovery in world 1st footage — and it's tiny
Scientists have known about the Antarctic gonate squid for more than 100 years, but they have previously only seen dead specimens caught in fishing nets or beaks that had been preserved in the stomachs of other animals. This is the first time scientists have observed the squid alive and in its natural habitat.
The creature was in the bathypelagic or midnight zone, 3,300 to 13,100 feet (1,000 to 4,000 m) below the ocean's surface. No sunlight can penetrate that far into the ocean, so the midnight zone's only light comes from animals that can illuminate themselves with bioluminescence, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
RELATED STORIES
—Watch extremely rare footage of a bigfin squid 'walking' on long, spindly arms deep in the South Pacific
—Rare video shows elusive deep-sea squid cradling her gigantic, translucent eggs
—Elusive 'octopus squid' with world's largest biological lights attacks camera in striking new video
The squid released a cloud of greenish ink when the ROV approached, potentially startled by the presence of a large, bright vehicle in its environment. The researchers followed the animal for a few minutes, using the ROV's lasers to measure its size, before the squid shot away into the darkness, National Geographic reported.
While researchers couldn't determine the sex or age of the animal, Bolstad confirmed it was an Antarctic gonate squid by observing the presence of a single, large hook on the ends of its two longer tentacles.
"The impressive tentacle hooks are probably used for grasping and subduing prey during ambush predation," Alex Hayward, a senior lecturer in ecology and conservation at the University of Exeter in England who was not involved in the expedition, told National Geographic.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
See a razor-thin crescent moon join Jupiter and Venus in the predawn sky on Aug. 20
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Look to the east in the hours preceding sunrise on Aug. 20 to see a thin crescent moon rendezvous with Venus and Jupiter to form a celestial triangle in the predawn sky. TOP TELESCOPE PICK Want to see the planets of the solar system for yourself? The Celestron NexStar 8SE is ideal for beginners wanting quality, reliable and quick views of celestial objects. For a more in-depth look at our Celestron NexStar 8SE review. The 9%-lit waning crescent moon can be found roughly 15 degrees above the eastern horizon an hour and a half before sunrise on Aug. 20, embedded in the twinkling stars of the constellation Gemini. Venus will be visible as a bright 'morning star' shining approximately 5 degrees to the lower right of the lunar disk, while Jupiter will sit less than 10 degrees to the upper right of the moon, forming the highest point of the cosmic triangle. Remember, the width of your fist held at arm's length accounts for roughly 10 degrees of night sky. The bright stars Castor and Pollux will be positioned to the left of the moon in the early morning hours of Aug. 19. Mercury, meanwhile, will be visible close to the horizon, but will swiftly become lost in the glare of the sun, which rises at 6:11 a.m. ET (1011 GMT) for viewers in New York. Viewing the cosmic trio with a 6-inch telescope will reveal the dark oval of the Grimaldi Basin impact site scarring the lunar surface, along with cloud bands on the surface of Jupiter, and the moon-like phases of Venus, under good atmospheric conditions. The coming nights will see the wafer-thin lunar crescent sweep past Venus to join Mercury and the Beehive open star cluster in the constellation Cancer, the crab, ahead of its new moon phase on Aug. 23. Stargazers looking for new equipment with which to explore the night sky should check out our roundups of the best telescopes and binoculars available in 2025. Photographers should also read up on our roundups of the best lenses and cameras for astrophotography. Editor's Note: If you capture a picture of the crescent moon with Jupiter and Venus and want to share it with readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, name and location to spacephotos@
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Don't miss Mercury, the moon and the Beehive Cluster align in a special August morning sky show
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Isaac Asimov (1920-1992), a legendary writer of science and science fiction, once noted in "The Solar System and Back," that the planet Mercury is rarely visible when it is truly dark. "I suspect, in fact," he observed, "that many people today (when the horizon is generally much dirtier and the sky much hazier with the glare of artificial light than it was in centuries past) have never seen Mercury." In pre-Christian times, Mercury had two names, as it was not realized that it could alternately appear on one side of the sun and then the other. When visible in the evening sky, it was called Mercury and when appearing as a morning star, it was known as Apollo. It was Pythagoras, around the 5th century B.C., who first recognized that Mercury and Apollo were the same celestial body. A fine viewing window is now open Mercury is indeed clever at escaping detection. It is said that the astronomer Copernicus never saw the planet. Yet you can find it, if you know where to look. As the innermost planet, Mercury is usually masked by the sun's glare, so we must look for Mercury either soon after sunset, or in the case we are discussing here, just before sunrise. On the morning of Tuesday morning (Aug. 19), Mercury reaches its greatest western elongation, meaning it's at its maximum apparent distance from the sun. To catch a glimpse, set your alarm for 45 minutes before sunrise and look low toward the east-northeast horizon. First, you'll spot brilliant Venus. About one and a half fist‑widths (approximately 15°) lower left of Venus, look for a bright, yellowish point of light, Mercury. Skinny moon points the way on Thursday On Thursday morning (Aug. 21), besides Venus, there will be another celestial object to guide you to Mercury. That will be our moon. The moon will appear as a very slender sliver of light, only 4% illuminated and less than two days before the new phase. It will be positioned 5 degrees (half a fist) above Mercury. Binoculars will make things a bit easier to make a sighting, though sighting this very thin waning lunar crescent should be evident with the unaided eye. This morning Mercury will shine at magnitude -0.3. Among the stars, only Sirius and Canopus shine brighter, so once you locate the moon, sighting Mercury should be a relatively easy task. And although it swings back toward the sun after Aug. 18, it will continue to be visible until virtually the end of the month as it continues to brighten. By Aug. 28, it will have more than doubled in brightness, reaching a brilliant magnitude of -1. Beehive buzzes nearby TOP TELESCOPE PICK Want to view the night sky up close? The Celestron NexStar 8SE is ideal for beginners wanting quality, reliable and quick views of celestial objects. For a more in-depth look, check out our Celestron NexStar 8SE review. Besides viewing the moon and Mercury with binoculars on Aug. 21, there will be another celestial sight to look for that morning. Try looking for it when the twilight sky is not so bright, roughly an hour or more before sunrise. Located about 2 degrees below the hairline-thin moon will be M44, one of the sky's finest open clusters. Popularly known as the Beehive, it's also one of the nearest open clusters at a distance of 500 light-years. Binoculars are ideal for examining this wide, interesting star field. Its central group of stars is arranged into rough rows that form a generally triangular shape, suggesting an old-fashioned beehive. For centuries, M44 has also been known as Praesepe, Latin for "Manger." Pressing close to it are the two stars that supposedly represented the Northern and Southern Donkeys: Asellus Borealis and Australis. Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, Sky and Telescope and other publications.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
SpaceX's Super Heavy booster will fly with fresh 'grid fins'
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Recently, SpaceX posted photos on X of its redesigned grid fin for its Super Heavy rocket booster. What is it? Grid fins are lattice-style control surfaces that help steer rockets back down through the atmosphere toward their landing zones, helping to reduce the possible risk of damage or a crash. For SpaceX, which relies on reusable spacecraft like Falcon 9 and Starship, having more controllable areas can help keep the spacecraft in better condition, allowing for more future launches. Where is it? This photo was taken at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. Why is it amazing? SpaceX has been working on the next-generation of its Super Heavy booster, which includes a new style of grid fins. In their post on X, the company mentioned that "The redesigned grid fins are 50% larger and higher strength, moving from four fins to three for vehicle control while enabling the booster to descend at higher angles of attack." This change allows for the team to have more control during descent while allowing the booster to return to Earth from more extreme angles, improving its landing capabilities. Want to learn more? You can read more about SpaceX's work and its ongoing launches.
