Rare Blood-Red Squid Seen Alive For The First Time Off Antarctica
Researchers have filmed a rare species of deep-sea squid off Antarctica that has been seen alive for the first time, announced National Geographic. The Antarctic gonate squid (Gonatus antarcticus) was captured moving 7,060 feet below the surface in the ocean's midnight zone. The three-foot-long squid was captured on December 25, 2024.
The team of scientists and technical experts onboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute's ship RV Falkor (too) spotted the blood-red creature.
Manuel Novillo, a postdoctoral researcher at Instituto de Diversidad y Ecologia Animal who was aboard the ship, said, as quoted in the report, "It was our mission critical."
They were planning to take the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to the Powell Basin, which is an unexplored abyssal plain that plummets to around 9,800 feet deep.
However, they had to postpone the launch because of the sea ice. Novillo said, "The ice blocks were moving so fast, it would put all the ships in danger, so we had to rearrange everything."
Hence, the researchers chose a new site at the outer edge of the Powell Basin for the next day when they witnessed a squid that had "never been seen alive".
Behold the first ever recording of a deep-sea squid: The Gonatus antarcticus!
For more on this story, visit: https://t.co/Mu4urHE7XU pic.twitter.com/XywgbTBC2L
— USA TODAY Video (@usatodayvideo) June 10, 2025
Gonatus antarcticus, an elusive cephalopod found only in the frigid waters around Antarctica, the report said.
Novillo's team sent the footage to Kat Bolstad, who is the head of the Lab for Cephalopod Ecology and Systematics at Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand.
She confirmed it was an Antarctic gonate squid.
"This is, to the best of my knowledge, the first live footage of this animal worldwide," she says.
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