Deep Sea Squid Caught on Camera Alive for the First Time. The Astonishing Footage Wasn't Planned
The colorful, three-foot squid species was only known to scientists previously by its remains in fishing nets and larger mammals' stomachs
The expedition also mapped ocean depths up to 4000 meters, collected samples of plant and animal life, and tracked a range of underwater terrainsScientists have captured the first images of a live Antarctic squid!
Researchers on an expedition in the Southern Ocean obtained the first known footage of a living Gonatus antarcticus squid, according to a press release from National Geographic on June 10. The three-foot-long specimen of the elusive species, which is only found in the icy waters around Antarctica, was filmed on Christmas Day 2024, and scientists are now sharing those findings with National Geographic and the world.
Footage of the mysterious creature was taken by chance. Scientists aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel, R/V Falkor (too), sent the vessel's remotely operated vehicle (ROV), SuBastian, to explore the depths of the frigid Southern Ocean. The ROV was in the right place at the right time and managed to film a passing Gonatus antarcticus squid. Before this, the cephalopod's existence was only known because its remains appeared in fishing nets and the stomachs of larger marine animals.
Images from the exciting encounter, which occurred 2152 meters (1.34 miles) deep in the Weddell Sea, show the vibrantly-colored squid with scratches and sucker marks on its body. Aside from these minor wounds, the squid appears to be in good health, according to National Geographic.
Footage of the squid also shows the large single central hook found on each tentacle, a characteristic researchers used to confirm that the sighting was indeed of a Gonatus antarcticus squid.
During the expedition, the research team also collected samples of plant life, organisms, sediment, and water, and mapped previously undiscovered depths that reached 4000 meters (roughly 2.5 miles deep), including terrains of "abyssal plains, hydrothermal vents, troughs, canyon walls and sea ice," per the release.
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The Weddell Sea — part of the Southern Ocean, just southeast of the southern tip of South America — where the squid was found is considered "one of the few near-pristine ecosystems on the planet."
The R/V Falkor (too) and National Geographic Explorers went to the far-flung spot as part of the National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Ocean Expedition, which aims to provide a comprehensive scientific examination of the impact of climate change on the Earth's "few near-pristine ecosystems."
Footage of the squid and other moments from this expedition will be used in a future National Geographic documentary. To read more about this impressive squid sighting and the work it took to capture it, read more at natgeo.com.
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