Researchers have recorded the first known sighting of a live Gonatus antarcticus as part of the National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet expedition. (Image credit: Photo and video by ROV SuBastian/Schmidt Ocean Institute)
National Geographic reported that for the first time, a living elusive species of deep-sea squid has been discovered off the coast of Antarctica.
On December 25, 2024, researchers captured video of an Antarctic gonadal squid (Gonatus antarcticus) drifting in the black waters of the ocean's midnight zone, 7,060 feet (2,152 meters) below the surface.
As first reported by National Geographic, researchers spotted the 3-foot-long (0.9 m) blood-red creature using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) launched from the Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel, the R/V Falkor (also). They sent footage to Kat Bolstad, head of the Cephalopod Ecology and Taxonomy Lab at the Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, who confirmed that it was an Antarctic gonathan squid.
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“As far as I know, this is the first live broadcast of this animal in the world,” Bolstad told National Geographic.
Scientists have known about the Antarctic gonathan squid for more than 100 years, but previously they had only seen dead specimens caught in fishing nets or beaks 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, at depths of 3,300 to 13,100 feet (1,000 to 4,000 m) below the ocean's surface. Sunlight can't penetrate that far into the ocean, so the only light in the midnight zone comes from animals that can glow with bioluminescence, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The squid released a cloud of greenish ink as the ROV approached, perhaps startled by the presence of a large, bright vehicle in its surroundings. The researchers tracked the animal for several minutes, using the ROV's lasers to measure its size, before the squid shot off into the darkness, National Geographic reports.
Although the researchers were unable to determine the animal's sex or age, Bolstad confirmed that it was an Antarctic gonahid by noticing the presence of a single large hook at the end of its two long tentacles.
“The impressive hook-like tentacles are likely used to capture and hold prey during an ambush,” 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.
Sourse: www.livescience.com
