Scientists capture stunning video of colossal squid in its natural habitat: 'We could think of this ... as a teenager squid'
Viewers of a deep-sea livestream got the thrill of a lifetime when cameras captured the first confirmed video of a colossal squid in its natural habitat.
As The Conversation reported, the animal was first described 100 years ago but hadn't been caught on camera until March. That happened during a live "divestream" from the Schmidt Ocean Institute and Ocean Census, where a remote-operated vehicle was searching for new species and habitats deep in the South Atlantic Ocean.
The juvenile squid, nearly one foot long, was spotted roughly 2,000 feet deep in the ocean, near the South Sandwich Islands, a glacier-covered chain about 1,200 miles east of South America's southeasternmost tip.
Even after the livestream, researchers had to review high-definition footage from the cameras to verify that it was, in fact, a juvenile colossal squid, part of the glass squid family.
"We could think of this maybe as a teenager squid," Dr. Aaron Evans, a giant squid expert and researcher, said in an April news conference. "For us to see this kind of midrange size in between a hatchling and an adult is really exciting because it gives us the opportunity to fill in some of those missing puzzle pieces to the life history of this very mysterious animal."
Researchers believe these invertebrates, the heaviest on Earth, can grow up to 23 feet long and weigh up to 1,100 pounds. Previous possible sightings could not be confirmed, as key characteristics weren't clearly visible, such as the hooks on the end of the colossal squid's two long tentacles.
The sighting shows how big a role remotely operated cameras can play in ecological research. These technological advancements have allowed conservationists to discover new species or familiar species in new places.
Just this year, trail cameras have spotted an echidna in Tasmania, where it was thought to be extinct; the return of bobcats to New Jersey; and thriving animal populations in a remote Asian forest. And in Vietnam, researchers have confirmed the first sighting of a silver-backed chevrotain in nearly 30 years.
"Now that we have the ability to share (dives) in real time in this way and show people how beautiful the things are, how many things remain to be discovered, and that people can come along with us as we make these discoveries, I feel like our ability to appreciate the deep sea on a much wider scale is moving towards where it should have been all along," Dr. Kat Bolstad, an associate professor with New Zealand's Auckland University of Technology, said.
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