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The colossal squid, scientifically named Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, is one of the largest and heaviest invertebrates in the world.
The video, captured by the Schmidt Ocean Institute, shows a juvenile colossal squid swimming in the South Atlantic Ocean at a depth of 600 meters. (Image by Schmidt Ocean Institute)
Scientists have recently captured the first-ever footage of the mysterious colossal squid in its natural environment. This historic moment comes nearly a century after the species was first identified. The video, captured by the Schmidt Ocean Institute, shows a juvenile colossal squid swimming in the South Atlantic Ocean at a depth of 600 meters.
The footage marks a significant breakthrough in marine research. For years, little was known about its natural behaviour, and most of what scientists understood came from dead or dying specimens found within the stomachs of whales and seabirds.
Where Was The Colossal Squid Spotted?
The colossal squid was filmed during a deep-sea expedition led by the Schmidt Ocean Institute near the South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. The expedition’s research vessel, Falkor (too), deployed a remotely operated vehicle called SuBastian, which captured the footage. The squid was spotted at a depth of around 600 meters (1,968 feet).
Dr. Michelle Taylor, the chief scientist of the expedition, shared with the BBC that the team wasn’t entirely certain about what they were observing at first. But they decided to record it because it appeared “beautiful and unusual.”
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The creature in the footage was about 30 centimetres long and was later confirmed by marine biologist Kat Bolstad, associate professor at New Zealand’s Auckland University of Technology, to be a juvenile colossal squid.
“It’s exciting to see the first in situ footage of a juvenile colossal and humbling to think that they have no idea that humans exist,” she said.
More About Colossal Squid
The colossal squid, scientifically named Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, is one of the largest and heaviest invertebrates in the world. Adult squid can grow up to 7 meters long and weigh over 500 kilograms. The juvenile squid filmed was much smaller, at nearly 1 foot (30 centimetres) long.
One key feature that makes the colossal squid unique is the presence of hooks along the middle of its eight arms. These hooks help distinguish it from other squid species. Bolstad pointed out that the squid’s mantle also contains large, rusty red-brown chromatophores or colour-changing cells. “(That) tells us that it almost certainly can switch back and forth between being completely transparent, which is how we see it, mostly in this footage, to being quite opaque,” she explained as quoted by CNN.
The colossal squid also has the largest eyes of any known animal, which helps it detect both prey and predators in the pitch-black ocean depths. Juvenile colossal squids are almost completely transparent, which is common among young deep-sea creatures. As they grow, their bodies turn a deep red or purple, and they develop thick, powerful arms.
Bolstad also clarified that the colossal squid is not the same as the giant squid. The colossal squid is found only in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions, while the giant squid lives in other parts of the world’s oceans.
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Glass Squid And Colossal Squid: Similar Yet Different
As per a report in CNN, during a separate expedition near Antarctica in January, a team deployed SuBastian into the depths of the Bellingshausen Sea. As the vehicle reached a depth of 2,254 feet (687 meters), they noticed something interesting – a glass squid.
The juvenile colossal squid and the glass squid share similarities, as both have hooks at the ends of their two longer tentacles and transparent bodies. But this glass squid had its arms loosely above its head in a manoeuvre called a cockatoo pose, which has been observed previously in this type of squid.
Dr Aaron Evans, an independent researcher and Bolstad later confirmed that the team had captured the first-ever footage of a glacial glass squid in its natural environment.
What’s Next?
Neither the juvenile colossal squid nor the glass squid seemed alarmed by the remotely operated vehicle. Instead, both creatures remained calm, but that is not the case with the adult colossal squid. They remain more elusive and use their keen eyesight to detect any potential danger and avoid it.
“From their perspective, any time something large is coming forward, it’s not a good thing. The adult colossal squid remains mysterious and enigmatic because it has these senses, which allow it to see us,” Dr Evans told CNN.
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He also mentioned that adult colossal squids are hard to study because they live in the remote waters of Antarctica. This makes it difficult for scientists to research them, so it might take a while before they manage to film an adult squid in its natural habitat.
