Deep-Sea Encounter Captures Elusive Bigfin Squid on Camera
Scientists exploring the deep sea off Central California have captured remarkable footage of an elusive bigfin squid (Magnapinna sp.), marking the first confirmed live observation of the species in the Northeastern Pacific Ocean.
Watch here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEw74DoCv6Q
Researchers from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and NOAA were surveying the abyssal seafloor near Davidson Seamount when the squid emerged from the darkness at a depth of around 3,277 metres.
Filmed by MBARI’s remotely operated vehicle Doc Ricketts, the squid was seen hovering above the seafloor, moving its two large fins while trailing its extraordinarily long arms and tentacles. Using the ROV’s laser measuring system, researchers estimated it was around 1.25 metres long.
Bigfin squid are among the deep ocean’s most mysterious inhabitants. Only around 70 have ever been observed or collected, and scientists have never collected an adult specimen. Their distinctive arms and tentacles feature 90-degree, elbow-like bends and trail long, thread-like filaments behind them.
The encounter was only the second time MBARI researchers have seen a bigfin squid during four decades of deep-sea exploration. Their previous sighting took place off Hawaii in 2001.
Scientists still know remarkably little about these strange cephalopods, including what adults eat, making rare observations such as this particularly valuable.
The sighting took place during a 10-day expedition aboard MBARI’s research vessel David Packard, studying the remarkable communities of marine life associated with underwater mountains off the Californian coast.
Source: MBARI
