#CRYPTID     #KRAKEN     #CRYPTOZOOLOGY

World's most elusive giant squid could be monogamous, female corpse hints


By Stephanie Pappas 3 days ago

Squid was embedded with sperm from a single male.

A female giant squid caught in a net off Kyoto had dozens of sperm packets from a single male embedded in her muscles. (Image credit: Miyazu Energy Aquarium)

A female of the world's largest squid — sometimes called the "kraken" after the mythological sea monster — that was caught off the coast of Japan apparently had just one amorous encounter in her lifetime.

The female had sperm packets from just one male giant squid embedded in her body, which surprised researchers. Because giant squid are solitary creatures that probably run across potential mates only occasionally, scientists expected that females would opportunistically collect and store sperm from multiple males over time.

"We were almost confident that they are promiscuous," said Noritaka Hirohashi, a biologist at Shimane University in Japan. "We just wanted to know how many males are involved in copulation. So this is totally unexpected."


Related: Release the kraken! Giant squid photos


Mysterious mating

Hirohashi and his colleagues study reproduction and sperm biology in several squid species, but the most mysterious of all is Architeuthis dux, the giant squid. Rarely seen alive, the giant squid has a life cycle shrouded in deep ocean mystery. Video of living giant squid in their natural habitats has been captured only twice. The only thing researchers know about these mysterious creatures' mating habits is that female giant squid are sometimes found with large sperm packets known as spermatangia embedded in their muscles. Researchers writing in a 1997 paper in the journal Nature posited that male giant squid probably use their "muscular elongate penis" to inject the sperm packets into the females.

How sperm meets egg from there isn't entirely clear. It's possible that the female releases chemical cues that activate the sperm when she's ready to spawn, or perhaps she releases her eggs in such a way that they trail along the sperm packets as they leave her body. Squid females do have organs near the mouth called seminal receptacles, where some species storm sperm, and it's possible that in those species, the embedded sperm can travel over the skin to these receptacles.

Knowing that witnessing two giant squid mating is highly unlikely, Hirohashi and his team developed a window into the process, using genetics. Examining squid specimens from fisheries and museum archives, they pinpointed some segments of the giant squid genome that would distinguish one set of squid DNA from another. Think of it like a squid paternity test: Any sperm packets found on a female can be tested to see if they came from multiple males and, if so, how many.

The researchers are always on the lookout for sperm-spangled females. They send out flyers to local museums, fisheries and aquariums, asking them to alert the research lab if a giant squid specimen turns up. In February 2020, they got good news.

"In this case, we found [a] Yahoo News [article] telling that the giant squid was caught," Hirohashi wrote in an email to Live Science.

Saving sperm


The spermatangia, or sperm packets, embedded in the upper layer of muscle on the female giant squid. No one knows how the sperm get to the eggs to fertilize them. (Image credit: Miyazu Energy Aquarium)

The specimen was a female, with a mantle, or main body, 5.25 feet (1.6 meters) long. It was missing a pair of tentacles and one eye but still weighed 257 pounds (116.6 kilograms). The squid had been caught in a fisher's net in Kyoto and was displayed at the Miyazu Energy Aquarium before being dissected.


When Hirohashi's team examined the body, they found that the squid was just reaching maturity and that it had squiggly spermatangia 3.9 inches (10 centimeters) long embedded in five separate locations: three places on the squid's mantle, one by an arm and one on the head. Each location hosted at least 10 spermatangia. Some were near gashes that may have been caused by a mating male's beak.


Genetic analysis of the spermatangia revealed that each and every one came from the same male. This was shocking to the research team; giant squid are often found bearing sperm packets, in a way that suggests that males aren't particularly picky. Spermatangia have been found on immature females, perhaps as a way for males to make their sperm available after the female matures, and even on males, perhaps because males are willing to try anything (or perhaps because they sometimes accidentally self-fertilize). All of the evidence pointed to a species that would mate first and ask questions later.

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The specimen, of course, is just one female, so more research is needed to see if monogamy is the norm among giant squid females. It's possible that this female had simply only encountered one male before she was entangled in the net that ended her life, the researchers wrote in the September issue of the journal Deep Sea Research Part 1. Or perhaps it is typical for females to mate with just one male. The gashes might be part of the males' strategy for ensuring other males don't move in, perhaps by limiting a female's life span after mating so that she doesn't have time to collect more sperm. Or, the researchers speculated, the aggression and injuries could spur the females to mature and spawn so that the sperm is speedily fertilized.

The next step is to study the spermatangia of more specimens, Hirohashi said. And researchers need to figure out how the stored sperm reaches the eggs, which are not deposited particularly close to the spermatangia. Researchers also need to figure out basically everything else about this elusive creature, including its life span, migration and habitats, he added.

"Kids ask these questions at the aquarium, so we must answer," Hirohashi said.

Originally published on Live Science

Revealed: The Mysterious, Legendary Giant Squid’s Genome

TOPICS:GeneticsMarine Biological LaboratoryMarine BiologyPopular

By MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY JANUARY 15, 2020

How did the monstrous giant squid – reaching school-bus size, with eyes as big as dinner plates and tentacles that can snatch prey 10 yards away – get so scarily big?

Today, important clues about the anatomy and evolution of the mysterious giant squid (Architeuthis dux) are revealed through publication of its full genome sequence by a University of Copenhagen-led team that includes scientist Caroline Albertin of the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), Woods Hole.

Giant squid are rarely sighted and have never been caught and kept alive, meaning their biology (even how they reproduce) is still largely a mystery. The genome sequence can provide important insight.

The giant squid has long been a subject of horror lore. In this original illustration from Jules Verne’s ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,’ a giant squid grasps a helpless sailor. Credit: Alphonse de Neuville

“In terms of their genes, we found the giant squid look a lot like other animals. This means we can study these truly bizarre animals to learn more about ourselves,” says Albertin, who in 2015 led the team that sequenced the first genome of a cephalopod (the group that includes squid, octopus, cuttlefish, and nautilus).

Led by Rute da Fonseca at University of Copenhagen, the team discovered that the giant squid genome is big: with an estimated 2.7 billion DNA base pairs, it’s about 90 percent the size of the human genome.

Albertin analyzed several ancient, well-known gene families in the giant squid, drawing comparisons with the four other cephalopod species that have been sequenced and with the human genome.

She found that important developmental genes in almost all animals (Hox and Wnt) were present in single copies only in the giant squid genome. That means this gigantic, invertebrate creature – long a source of sea-monster lore – did NOT get so big through whole-genome duplication, a strategy that evolution took long ago to increase the size of vertebrates.

So, knowing how this squid species got so giant awaits further probing of its genome.

“A genome is a first step for answering a lot of questions about the biology of these very weird animals,” Albertin said, such as how they acquired the largest brain among the invertebrates, their sophisticated behaviors and agility, and their incredible skill at instantaneous camouflage.

“While cephalopods have many complex and elaborate features, they are thought to have evolved independently of the vertebrates. By comparing their genomes we can ask, ‘Are cephalopods and vertebrates built the same way or are they built differently?'” Albertin says.

Albertin also identified more than 100 genes in the protocadherin family – typically not found in abundance in invertebrates – in the giant squid genome.

“Protocadherins are thought to be important in wiring up a complicated brain correctly,” she says. “They were thought they were a vertebrate innovation, so we were really surprised when we found more than 100 of them in the octopus genome (in 2015). That seemed like a smoking gun to how you make a complicated brain. And we have found a similar expansion of protocadherins in the giant squid, as well.”

Lastly, she analyzed a gene family that (so far) is unique to cephalopods, called reflectins. “Reflectins encode a protein that is involved in making iridescence. Color is an important part of camouflage, so we are trying to understand what this gene family is doing and how it works,” Albertin says.

“Having this giant squid genome is an important node in helping us understand what makes a cephalopod a cephalopod. And it also can help us understand how new and novel genes arise in evolution and development.”

Reference: “A draft genome sequence of the elusive giant squid, Architeuthis dux” by Rute R da Fonseca, Alvarina Couto, Andre M Machado, Brona Brejova, Carolin B Albertin, Filipe Silva, Paul Gardner, Tobias Baril, Alex Hayward, Alexandre Campos, Ângela M Ribeiro, Inigo Barrio-Hernandez, Henk-Jan Hoving, Ricardo Tafur-Jimenez, Chong Chu, Barbara Frazão, Bent Petersen, Fernando Peñaloza, Francesco Musacchia, Graham C Alexander, Jr, Hugo Osório, Inger Winkelmann, Oleg Simakov, Simon Rasmussen, M Ziaur Rahman, Davide Pisani, Jakob Vinther, Erich Jarvis, Guojie Zhang, Jan M Strugnell, L Filipe C Castro, Olivier Fedrigo, Mateus Patricio, Qiye Li, Sara Rocha, Agostinho Antunes, Yufeng Wu, Bin Ma, Remo Sanges, Tomas Vinar, Blagoy Blagoev, Thomas Sicheritz-Ponten, Rasmus Nielsen and M Thomas P Gilbert, 16 January 2020, GigaScience.
DOI: 10.1093/gigascience/giz152

Study Reveals That Giant Squid Throughout the World Are Genetically Similar

TOPICS:Evolutionary BiologyGeneticsGiant SquidsUniversity Of Copenhagen

By UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN MARCH 20, 2013

Study reveals that giant squid such as this one are genetically similar throughout the world. David Paul/Museum Victoria

In a newly published study, researchers examine the mitochondrial genome diversity of 43 giant squid samples collected from across the range of the species, finding that there is only one global species of giant squid, Architeuthis.

The giant squid is one of the most enigmatic animals on the planet. It is extremely rarely seen, except as the remains of animals that have been washed ashore, and placed in the formalin or ethanol collections of museums. But now, researchers at the University of Copenhagen leading an international team, have discovered that no matter where in the world they are found, the fabled animals are so closely related at the genetic level that they represent a single, global population, and thus despite previous statements to the contrary, a single species worldwide. Thus the circle, that was first opened in 1857 by the famous Danish naturalist Japetus Steenstrup as he first described the animal, can be closed. It was Steenstrup that realized this beast was the same animal that in the past gave rise to centuries of sailors tails, and even in more recent became immortalized by writers such as Jules Verne and Herman Melville, by demonstrating that the monster was based in reality, and gave it the latin name Architeuthis dux.

It was less than 1 year ago, that the giant squid, Architeuthis dux, was first filmed alive in its natural element. Taken at a depth of 630m and after 100 missions and 400 hours of filming, the footage was captured by a small submarine lying off the Japanese island of Chichi Jima – near to the famous Iwo Jima that was the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting between Japan and the USA in the Second World War.

Now, PhD student Inger Winkelmann and her supervisor Professor Tom Gilbert, from the Basic Research Center in GeoGenetics at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen University, have managed to place new bricks into the puzzle of this giant 10 armed invertebrate, that is credibly believed to grow up to 13 meters long and way over 900 kg.

And the two scientists conclusions are: No matter what a sample looks like, its one species all over the deep oceans of the planet.

Sinking to the depths

PhD student Inger Winkelmann says about these findings, that are published in the esteemed British journal, the Proceedings of the Royal Society B:

– We have analysed DNA from the remains of 43 giant squid collected from all over the world. The results show, that the animal is genetically nearly identical all over the planet, and shows no evidence of living in geographically structured populations. We suggest that one possible explanation for this is that although evidence suggests the adults remain in relatively restricted geographic regions, the young that live on the ocean’s surfaces must drift in the currents globally. Once they reach a large enough size to survive the depths, we believe they dive to the nearest suitable deep waters, and there the cycle begins again. Nevertheless, we still lack a huge amount of knowledge about these creatures. How big a range to they really inhabit as adults? Have they in the past been threatened by things such as climate change, and the populations of their natural enemies, such as the planet’s largest toothed whale, the sperm whale that can grow up to 20 m in length and 50 tons? And at an even more basic level…how old do they even get and how quickly do they grow?

The kraken and the seamonk

These new results about the mysterious giant squid are released, fittingly enough, on the 200th anniversary of the Danish naturalist and polymath, Japetus Steenstrup (born in 1813).

At the age of 44, in 1857, it was Steenstrup who saw that many of the monsters of sea-legend were related to fragments that he had been sent of what appeared to be a giant squid, and in doing so described the species for the first time and removed any hope that sea monsters such as the Kraken and sea-monk really existed (although nevertheless, similar monsters still inspired beasts in literature and even films throughout the 20th century, including Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings in 1957).

Professor Tom Gilbert, who lead the team that undertook the research, says:

– It has been tremendous to apply the latest techniques in genetic and computational analyses, to follow up on Steenstrup’s scientific research 146 years after he started it. But its also been a fantastic experience to work with the giant squid as a species, because of its legendary status as a seamonster. But despite our findings, I have no doubt that these myths and legends will continue get today’s children to open their eyes up – so they will be just as big as the real giant squid is equipped with to navigate the depths.

The work was undertaken in collaboration with researchers around the world, including scientists in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Spain, Portugal, USA and Ireland.

Publication: Inger Winkelmann, et al., “Mitochondrial genome diversity and population structure of the giant squid Architeuthis: genetics sheds new light on one of the most enigmatic marine species,” Proc. R. Soc. B 22 May 2013 vol. 280 no. 1759; doi: 10.1098/rspb.2013.0273

Image: David Paul/Museum Victoria

SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=SQUID

SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=GIANT+SQUID

SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=KRAKEN

SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=CEPHLAPOD

Giant Squid And Glow-In-The-Dark Sharks Captured By Researchers Off New Zealand

AS GIANT SQUIDS GO, AT JUST 4 METERS, THIS WAS PROBABLY A JUVENILE. PHOTO: BRIT FINUCCI/NIWA


By Katy Evans 18 FEB 2020

If you’re going to find strange creatures of the deep it’ll be off the coast of New Zealand, where legendary giants have long roamed.

So it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to learn that researchers exploring New Zealand’s deep waters on the hunt for elusive glow-in-the-dark sharks and hoki managed to catch an unexpected hitchhiker: a 4-meter (13-foot) giant squid.

Researchers aboard the New Zealand-based National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd (NIWA) research vessel Tangaroa were on an expedition to survey hoki, New Zealand’s most valuable commercial fish, in the Chatham Rise – an area of ocean floor to the east of New Zealand that makes up part of the "lost continent" of Zealandia.

At 7.30am on the morning of January 21, scientists were hauling up their trawler net from a depth of 442 meters (1,450 feet) when they were surprised to spot tentacles in amongst their catch. Large tentacles.

According to voyage leader and NIWA fisheries scientist Darren Stevens, who was on watch, it took six members of staff to lift the giant squid out of the net. Despite the squid being 4 meters long and weighing about 110 kilograms (240 pounds), Stevens said he thought the squid was “on the smallish side,” compared to other behemoths caught.

Darren Stevens measures the squid, finds it "on the smallish side". Photo: Brit Finucci, NIWA

Though giant squids are very rare, they can be found around the world, from Japan to the Gulf of Mexico, but they most often seem to crop up around New Zealand waters.

“New Zealand is kind of the giant squid capital of the world – anywhere else a giant squid is caught in a net would be a massive deal. But there’s been a few caught off New Zealand," Stevens said in a statement.

“It’s only the second one I’ve ever seen. I’ve been on about 40 trips on Tangaroa, and most surveys are about a month, and I’ve only ever seen two. That’s pretty rare.”

With eight arms, and two long tentacles tipped with sharp suckers, often twice the length of the rest of the squid, two giant eyes (the largest in the animal kingdom at 25 centimeters/10 inches) and a sharp beak that can devour fish and other squids, Architeuthis dux is the stuff of legends.

I've got my eye on you. Photo: Brit Finucci, NIWA

Because New Zealand actually hosts other giant squid specimens, the researchers onboard only took scientific samples of the valuable bits – the head, eyes, reproductive organs, and stomach. A tiny bone structure in its head will be used to try and age the squid, something there is no way of doing yet.

“We took the stomach because virtually nothing is known about a giant squid’s diet because every time people seem to catch one, there's very rarely anything in their stomachs,” Stevens said.

“Getting two giant squid eyes is apparently enough for a scientific paper. They're really rare, and you need a fresh one. So it was a really unique set of circumstances to get two fresh eyes.”

While the squid was fortuitous, Dr Jérôme Mallefet of UCLouvain, Belgium – the world's leading expert on bioluminescent sharks – was determined to capture and photograph glow-in-the-dark sharks. He even set up a darkroom aboard the RV Tangaroa in anticipation, and was rewarded handsomely with the first evidence of bioluminescent sharks in New Zealand waters.

Seal shark [left] and lucifer dogfish [right]. Photo: Dr J.Mallefet FNRS, Belgium

According to Dr Mallefet, 11 percent of known shark species can produce bioluminescent light, living in near-total darkness at more than 200 meters (656 feet) down. He photographed the southern lantern shark, lucifer dogfish, and seal shark, all of which emit a blue light (though some sharks emit green), as shorter wavelengths travel well through deep waters.

We shouldn't really be surprised that both the Kraken and creatures that glow live in the waters surrounding New Zealand. Its land creatures have always erred on the side of unusual too.

---30---

 

CTHULHU KRAKEN STUDIES

Giant Squids Washed Ashore Give Scientists New Clues

Giant squids washed ashore on the Sea of Japan coast are providing researchers with new insights into how this mysterious marine animal mates and reproduces.

on October 6, 2022
By Saki Maehara

JAPAN FORWARD

Children observing giant squid specimen at San-in Kaigan Geopark Sea and Earth Nature Museum in Iwami Town, Tottori Prefecture, February 2, 2016.

The giant squid is one of the world's largest invertebrates that lives in the deep sea. It is believed to be the origin of the legend of "Kraken," a monster feared by sailors in the age of sea exploration.

Although the animal remains shrouded in mystery, recent research analyzing individuals that have drifted ashore on the Sea of Japan coast has revealed a unique reproductive method that differs from that of other squids.

There is still much to learn about this giant creature that lurks in the depths of the sea.
Giants Washing Ashore

In April of this year, a local fisherman discovered a large red squid drifting in the sea at Ugu Beach in Obama City of Fukui Prefecture.

A city official who rushed to the site upon hearing the news found a giant squid measuring 3.35 meters in length. It had washed ashore, but its arms were still flapping.

One resident among those gathered on the beach remarked in awe, "It was huge." Another noted, "It's rare to see one alive." Later, at the Echizen Matsushima Aquarium (Sakai City, Fukui Prefecture), children were able to see the squid on display.

Giant squid are often found washed ashore on the coasts of Japan. With their two long tentacles extended, they can reach up to 18 meters in length.

Another aspect of the mysterious giant squid is revealed.

The deep sea is broadly defined as depths over 200 meters. But according to Tsunemi Kubodera, 71, a marine biologist and honorary researcher at the National Museum of Nature and Science, giant squid mainly live in middle layers of the ocean between 600 to 1,000 meters.

Read the rest of this article here to find out more on the biology of the giant squid. And find more great articles on the environment and the challenges of achieving the SDGs, on our new website Japan 2 Earth, sparking a transition on the environment and SDGs.

WATCH: Divers record rare sea creature video off the coast of Japan

Peter Aitken

Thu, January 19, 2023

Video has surfaced of a giant squid swimming off the coast of Japan, marking a rare sighting and footage of these elusive creatures.

Yosuke Tanaka, 41, encountered the 8-foot-long squid while diving with his wife Miki, 34, off the western coast of Japan. The couple, who operate a diving business in Toyooka city, found out about the squid from a fishing equipment vendor who spotted it in a bay, Japan Times reported.

Tanaka and Miki took a boat out in search of the creature, staying near the shoreline as they scoured the bay.

"I could see its tentacles moving. I thought it would be dangerous to be grabbed hard by them and taken off somewhere," Tanaka told the Times.

"We didn’t see the kinds of agile movements that many fish and marine creatures normally show," he added. "Its tentacles and fins were moving very slowly."

Yosuke Tanaka, 41, encountered the 8-foot-long squid while diving with his wife Miki, 34, off the western coast of Japan.

The footage, posted to Viral Press, shows the giant squid floating near the surface, its tentacles drifting behind it while the couple swim nearby. The squid seems either unaware or undisturbed by their presence.

An honorary researcher at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo told NHK news that the squid was likely around 1 or 2 years old, based on its size. A giant squid can grow as long as 39 feet.

While diving off Queensland, Australia, in 2018, Jay Wink, owner and operator of Abc Scuba Diving Port Douglas, captured this image of what seems to be strings of squid eggs held together by a gelatinous material.

The sheer size of the animal struck Tanaka, and he said he couldn’t help thinking about stories of squids fighting with whales. He assured that the experience would remain with him, saying it was "very exciting" and "there is nothing rarer than this."

Giant squids have occasionally appeared along Japan’s coast, with the last known sighting in March 2022. Most of what scientists have learned about giant squids comes from the stomachs of sperm whales, one of the squid’s chief predators.

In a rare event, a live giant squid (Architeuthis dux) is hauled to the surface on a baited hook in Japan. The giant squid can be 40 feet long tip-to-tail and weigh nearly a ton. (Tsunemi Kubodera)

A study estimated that sperm whales feed upon up to 131 million giant squids each year, Newsweek reported. The animals are most commonly found around New Zealand and Japan, as well as the North Atlantic and waters around Africa.

#KRAKEN #CRYPTID #CRYPTOZOOLOGY

Giant 'mystery creature' filmed by scientists exploring Red Sea shipwreck

Talk about a real-life Squid Game.

Amanda Kooser
Oct. 10, 2021 

This deep-sea animal surprised OceanX scientists when they spotted it 

on camera while investigating a shipwreck in the Red Sea.

Video screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET

It's cool enough to find a shipwreck. It's even better to spot a massive, mysterious sea creature hanging out with the wreck. That's what happened to the crew of the OceanX OceanXplorer research vessel during an expedition in the Red Sea in late 2020.

A year later, OceanX is revealing more information about the remarkable animal that swam past its remote-vehicle camera as it examined the wreck of the passenger ship Pella at a depth of nearly 2,800 feet (850 meters).

Zoologist and squid expert Mike Vecchione studied the footage and suggested that despite its size, the animal was not an infamous "giant squid" due to its body proportions and shape of its fins. Vecchione identified it as a jumbo example of a purpleback flying squid.

An OceanX video posted on Wednesday shows the fast-moving animal and Vecchione's analysis.

OceanX science program lead Mattie Rodrigue described seeing the squid -- which she estimated was larger than a human being -- for the first time as it swam past the bow of the wreck. "I was frozen in absolute shock," she said.

The researchers spotted either the same squid or others like it during subsequent dives. Vecchione said they represent "the giant form" of the purpleback flying squid.

OceanX is focused on ocean research, exploration, outreach and protection. The Red Sea mission's goal was to answer the question: "How do species in the Red Sea thrive where others would die?" Researchers discovered large animals, like the squid, as well as sites with climate-change resistant corals.

While the creature Rodrigue observed wasn't a legendary giant squid, it was a stunning and unexpected sight. A true wonder of the deep.

Rare Bigfin Squid in Australian waters

Scientists record some striking footage.

Australia is home to a host of weird and wonderful creatures, and now it can add the rare Bigfin Squid to its inventory.

Credit: Matthew Marrison (MNF)

Scientists aboard a deep-sea research voyage led by the national science agency CSIRO have recorded five individuals in the Great Australian Bight at depths of up to three kilometres.

It’s a first for Australian waters, and one of only a dozen confirmed sightings worldwide.

Alongside its large fins, the appropriately named Bigfin Squid (family Magnapinnidae) has striking long arm and tentacle filaments.

“Differences in their appearance meant we were able to confirm they were five separate individuals, rather than the same squid multiple times, and although the surveys covered a relatively large area, the squid were actually found clustered close together,” says marine scientist Deborah Osterhage.

From the recordings, the team was able to measure the length of one squid, finding its tentacle filaments were more than 11 times their body length.

They also observed their colours and behaviours, including filament coiling behaviour which has not previously been seen in squids.

The findings are reported in the journal PLOS ONE.

Five Enormous Rarely Seen Squid Have Been Spotted In Australian Waters


THIS FLOCK OF NOODLES HAS NEVER BEFORE BEEN SEEN IN AUSTRALIAN WATERS. 

CSIRO, OSTERHAGE ET AL. PLOS ONE, 2020

By Rachael Funnell11 NOV 2020, 19:00


The ocean is home to some absolute whoppers and some of the largest creatures are also the most elusive. One such giant is the bigfin squid that belongs to the family Magnapinnidae, a group of deep-sea squid with large fins and long, noodly arms and tentacles. It has only been spotted in the flesh on a handful of occasions. Now, new research published in the journal PLOS One details the incredible discovery of five bigfin squid in the Great Australian Bight, the first time they’ve been seen in Australian waters.

Previous reports of these ocean giants have always been of a single individual, so to capture five of these on camera was a big deal for the team from Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO. Though they weren’t spotted all at once, the bigfins have small differences in their appearance, which made it easy for the team to recognize they were five different animals and not just one camera-hungry squid. All five were seen at depths of 2 to 3 kilometers (around 1.5 miles) over a 25-hour period but were within 300 meters (984 feet) of one another, constituting a veritable crowd for an animal that’s never been seen with a party of more than one.

Bigfins have modestly sized bodies compared to their incredible long tentacle filaments. Osterhage et al. (PLOS ONE, 2020) 

VIDEO https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/five-enormous-rarely-seen-squid-have-been-spotted-in-australian-waters/

The first-of-its-kind discovery offered a unique opportunity to shine some light on these creatures of the deep, and the team were able to get an accurate reading on their size for the first time. Previous in-situ attempts to measure them have involved using nearby objects of known length, such as the arm of a submersible, but this new research used lasers to get a more accurate picture of their size. The results? The largest individual was over 1.8 meters (almost 6 feet) long with a maximum tentacle length of almost 11 times its body size. The animal was mostly white at the tips of its arms and tentacles but was sporting a mix of brown, orange, and pink hues towards its upper limbs, mantle, and fins. The researchers also spotted a behavior never before observed in squid, as a bigfin adopted a raised arm posture known as the ‘elbow’ pose.


“We filmed the five bigfin squid in depths of 2 to 3 kilometers using a towed camera system and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs),” said marine scientist Deborah Osterhage from CSIRO in an email to IFLScience. “We were doing image-based surveys to find out more about the deep-sea environment in the Great Australian Bight. The first two were seen in the towed camera footage when it was watched back onshore in the video lab. We recognized them as bigfin squid and knew how rare it was to see them, so in the subsequent ROV survey we really kept an eye out for them. We were lucky enough to see three more and were able to watch in real-time on the ship while the ROV filmed them — pretty exciting!

“Little is known of bigfin squid, and many other deep-sea cephalopods, largely due to the inaccessibility of their vast yet little explored deep-sea environments and there is much more to learn about the deep-sea and the incredible animals that live there. So, for bigfin squid we need to wait for more sightings, or more ideally an adult specimen in good condition — which has never been collected before.”

Multiple sightings of mysterious bigfin squid documented in the Great Australian Bight

by Bob Yirka , Phys.org

Sighting 3: ROV images of a Magnapinna squid at a depth of 3060 m. (A) Close view of the Magnapinna squid encountered 5.3 m above the seafloor with proximal arms/tentacles seen slightly opened and fins undulating slowly. (B) Full extent of arms/tentacles, the longest being approximately 1680 mm. Credit: PLOS ONE (2020). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241066

A team of researchers from the CSIRO Energy, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization and Museums Victoria has documented multiple sightings of bigfin squid in the depths of the Great Australian Bight. In their paper published in PLOS ONE, the group describes their study of the unique creatures and what they learned about them.


Bigfin squid live deep in the ocean and are noteworthy for several reasons. The first is that they are rarely seen in the wild—researchers have documented just 12 sightings. They also have unique fins that jut out from the side of the head at an angle that resembles Dumbo's ears—and they serve the same purpose, though in the water instead of the air. They also have long tentacles that are multiple times longer than their bodies. And they live thousands of meters deep in the ocean.

Because of their remoteness, little is known about the bigfin squid other than their general physical attributes. This sighting is the first in the Great Australian Bight (the huge open bay on the country's southern coast). Additionally, this is the first time the squid has been observed in a group of sorts. Though hundreds of meters apart, they were apparently sharing parts of the ocean. Squid are typically loners.

Another first was taking laser measurements of one specimen: a bigfin squid with a body (mantle) that was 15 centimeters long. More impressive were its tentacles, which were measured at 1.8 meters. All previous measurements of bigfin squid had been estimates based on background information such as other fish in the vicinity.


PlaySighting 5 of Magnapinna sp. in the GAB. This video was taken by ROV on 25 March 2017 at a depth of approximately 3056 m. Blue boxes are present in the lower corners to mask embedded logos in accordance with publishing requirements. Credit: PLOS ONE (2020).

 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241066

The researchers found the squid while they were conducting underwater surveys in the Bight. When they came across the first specimen, they deployed further tools to get a better look. They used both remotely operated underwater vehicles and towed cameras. In all, they carried out over 40 hours of underwater observations at depths ranging from 950 to 2400 meters below the surface—and wound up getting footage of five of the rare squid.


Explore further  Did a shark clash with large squid and live to tell the tale?

More information: Deborah Osterhage et al. Multiple observations of Bigfin Squid (Magnapinna sp.) in the Great Australian Bight reveal distribution patterns, morphological characteristics, and rarely seen behavior, PLOS ONE (2020). 

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241066

Journal information: PLoS ONE

10 weird creatures found in the deep sea in 2021

Shapeshifting fish, ghostly jellies, stunning cephalopods and more.

By Harry Baker 

If you're looking for bizarre creatures that defy explanation, there is no better place to look than the deep sea. Every year, researchers capture incredible footage of alien-looking animals and strange new species lurking in the deep, and this year was no different. Here is our list of the top 10 weirdest deep-sea creatures seen in 2021.

Blood-red jellyfish

This mysteries red jelly may be a new species previously unknown to science, NOAA researchers say. (Image credit: NOAA)

In August, researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced the discovery of a brand-new and unnamed species of blood-red jellyfish. The dark red jelly likely belongs to the genus Poralia, according to the researchers.

They first spotted the new jelly on July 28 using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) at a depth of around 2,300 feet (700 meters) just off the coast of Newport, Rhode Island. Other animals, including other cnidarians (jellyfish & corals), ctenophores (comb jellies), crustaceans and Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes), were also seen on the dive.

Lots of deep-sea creatures have evolved a similar red color because red wavelengths of light do not penetrate into the deep ocean. This means that red animals appear black because there is no red light to reflect back toward potential predato

Read more: Mysterious blood-red jellyfish may be rare species unknown to science, researchers say

Elusive glass octopus

A glass octopus (Vitreledonella richardi) was spotted by researchers from the Schmidt Ocean Institute in the deep sea of the Central Pacific Ocean. (Image credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute)

Also in August, researchers from the Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) released footage of an elusive glass octopus (Vitreledonella richardi) off the coast of the remote Phoenix Islands, an archipelago located more than 3,200 miles (5,100 km) northeast of Sydney, Australia.

The translucent cephalopod was originally discovered during a 34-day expedition of the Central Pacific Ocean onboard the SOI's research vessel Falkor. Onboard scientists spotted the creature using the ROV SuBastian, which spent a total of 182 hours scanning the seafloor during the expedition.

Like other "glass" creatures, such as glass frogs and certain comb jellies, glass octopuses are almost completely transparent, with only their cylindrical eyes, optic nerve and digestive tract appearing opaque.

Read more: Elusive glass octopus spotted in the remote Pacific Ocean (Video)

Shape-shifting whalefish

An elusive whalefish was spotted 6,600 feet (2,013 meters) deep offshore of Monterey Bay, California. (Image credit: © 2021 MBARI)

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) released footage in August showing a bright orange, female whalefish (of the order Cetomimiformes) around 6,600 feet (2,013 m) deep offshore of Monterey Bay, California.

Very little is known about this bizarre fish because of the three drastically different appearances of the juveniles (tapetails), males (bignoses) and females (whalefish). The three forms look so different that scientists originally thought they were three different species. The shape-shifting transformation from juvenile to mature females is believed to be one of the most extreme among any vertebrates.

"Whalefish have rarely been seen alive in the deep, so many mysteries remain regarding these remarkable fish," the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute tweeted.

Read more: Shape-shifting fish that confounded scientists for 100 years spotted off California coast

'Emperor Dumbo'

The newly discovered Emperor Dumbo octopus (Grimpteuthis imperator). (Image credit: creative commons)

In May, researchers reported the discovery of a brand new species of Dumbo octopus (Grimpteuthis imperator), nicknamed "Emperor Dumbo" by the researchers.

Researchers discovered the adorable creature in 2016 when they accidentally dragged it to the surface in a net while aboard the German research vessel Sonne during an expedition of the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea. Dumbo octopus species can be identified by the umbrella-like webbing joining their tentacles and their cartoonishly ear-like fins that resemble the oversized ears on Disney's famous elephant.

"It was a really lucky find," Alexander Ziegler, a researcher at Friedrich Wilhelm University in Bonn, Germany, and chief scientist onboard the research vessel, told Live Science, "because we weren't really looking for it. Plus, the whole animal came to the surface intact."

Read more: All hail 'Emperor Dumbo,' the newest species of deep-dwelling octopus

Real-life SpongeBob and Patrick

The real-life SpongeBob and Patrick side by side on the seafloor. (Image credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration/Christopher Ma)

In August, NOAA released a comical photo of the real-life counterparts of the cartoon best friends SpongeBob Squarepants and Patrick Star side-by-side on the seafloor.
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The image of the square(ish) yellow sponge and five-pointed pink sea star were taken by an ROV on July 27, at a depth of 6,184 feet (1,885 m) during an expedition of the Retriever Seamount off the coast of New England.

"The sponge is [in] the genus Hertwigia and the sea star is [in] the genus Chondraster," Christopher Mah, a marine biologist at Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History who first made the comparison on Twitter, told Live Science. The exact species is unclear, and they could even be brand new to science, he added.

Read more: Real-life SpongeBob and Patrick found side by side on seafloor. But they likely don't get along.

Alien-like spindly squid

NOAA scientists captured footage of a rare bigfin squid in the Gulf of Mexico. (Image credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration)

In November, NOAA scientists spotted a rare bigfin squid (of the genus Magnapinna) with an ROV during an expedition in the Gulf of Mexico.

The ghostly squid has a very odd body plan with huge, iridescent fins and bizarre elbow-like bends in its tentacles. "All of their arms and tentacles have this long, spaghetti-like extension," Mike Vecchione, a research zoologist with the NOAA Fisheries National Systematics Laboratory, can be heard saying in the NOAA video footage. "It's really difficult to tell the arms from the tentacles, which is very unusual for a squid."

To date, there have been fewer than 20 confirmed sightings of this deep-sea cephalopod since it was first discovered in 1998.

Read more: Eerie video captures elusive, alien-like squid gliding in the Gulf of Mexico

Giant phantom jellyfish

A giant phantom jellyfish (Stygiomedusa gigantea) was caught on film by MBARI scientists in Monterey Bay. (Image credit: © 2021 MBARI. )

In November, MBARI released rare video footage of a giant phantom jellyfish (Stygiomedusa gigantea). Scientists operating an ROV at a depth of 3,200 feet (975 m) in Monterey Bay, California, spotted the massive jelly, with its 3.3-foot-wide (1 m) bell and 33-foot-long (10 m) ribbon-like arms.

Not much is known about phantom jellyfish, but scientists think it uses its arms, which stream like loose scarves in its wake, to ensnare unfortunate prey and winch them up to its mouth. The creature also propels itself through the pitch-black depths with periodic pulses from its faintly glowing bell.

"The giant phantom jelly was first collected in 1899. Since then, scientists have only encountered this animal about 100 times," MBARI said in a statement. Although it is rarely spotted, the jelly has been found in the depths of every major ocean in the world, except for the Arctic Ocean.

Read more: Giant 'phantom jellyfish' that eats with mouth-arms spotted off California coast

Photobombing squid

The purpleback flying squid (Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis) that swam past the ROV investigating the shipwreck in the Gulf of Aqaba. (Image credit: OceanX)

In October, researchers trying to map the seafloor of the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea were shocked when they discovered a recent shipwreck from 2011. While trying to film the remains of the vessel, the team's ROV was continuously photobombed by a purpleback flying squid (Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis).

The shipwreck and squid were found at a depth of around 2,788 feet (850 m). The scientists from OceanX think it was a solitary squid, but it may have been more than one as it was hard to identify the cephalopod as it zoomed across the screen. The researchers also said the squid had a total body length of about 6 feet (2 m), which would be near the maximum size for the species.

"It was just so spectacular for me," Mattie Rodrigue, science program lead at OceanX, told Live Science. "We had absolutely no idea that we were going to encounter such a magnificent and large animal."

Read more: Giant purpleblack flying squid photobombs crew investigating shipwreck

Sponge tracks on the seafloor

An example of the strange trails left by sponges as they crawl across the seafloor in the Arctic. (Image credit: AWI OFOBS team, PS101)

In April, a new study revealed the first evidence of deep-sea sponges crawling around on the seafloor, after researchers snapped photos of bizarre brown tracks left behind by the surprisingly mobile creatures in the Arctic.

The sponge trails were first photographed in 2016 by towed cameras behind a research vessel at Langseth Ridge — a poorly studied region of the Arctic Ocean that's permanently covered in sea ice — at a depth of between 2,300 and 3,300 feet (700 to 1,000 meters).

"The trails are made up of the spicules, or spines, which the sponge can grow," study co-author Autun Purser, a deep-sea ecologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute at the Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research in Germany, told Live Science. "The sponge seems to expand along these spines, then contract to the new, moved position. During this process, some spines break off, forming the trails."

Read more: Arctic sponges crawl around the seafloor and leave bizarre brown trails to prove it

A see through skull

Footage of a barreleye fish (Macropinna microstoma) taken by MBARI scientists in the Monterey Submarine Canyon (Image credit: © 2021 MBARI)

In December, MBARI researchers caught a rare glimpse of a barreleye fish (Macropinna microstoma). This bizarre fish has a translucent forehead, which it actually looks through using a pair of bulbous green eyes inside its head.

An ROV filmed the strange creature while cruising at a depth of about 2,132 feet (650 m) in the Monterey Submarine Canyon, one of the deepest submarine canyons on the Pacific coast. Extraordinarily, MBARI scientists have only ever spotted the species nine times previously, despite having completed more than 5,600 dives in the fish's habitat.

"The barreleye first appeared very small out in the blue distance, but I immediately knew what I was looking at. It couldn't be mistaken for anything else," Thomas Knowles, a senior aquarist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, told Live Science.

Read more: New footage shows bizarre deep-sea fish that sees through its forehead

Originally published on Live Science.

Seven most strange things

 that washed ashore in 2021

Representational image —Reuters.

Across the globe, beaches have seen their fair share of weird blobs washing ashore. Small and weird debris has been found many times, including tar balls that dotted Israel's Mediterranean coastline in February or a tangled rope coral that found its way onto a beach in Texas. 

Other times, organisms numbered in the millions, such as the by-the-wind sailor jellyfish whose corpses were stranded across shores.

Here is a list of wild and strange things that ended up on beaches in the year 2021, as compiled by Live Science.

Millions of 'sailor' jellyfish

Beaches around the world face millions of dead 'sailors' by wind jellyfish as they wash up and die on the shores. They get floated near the top of the sea and the little sails on their backs catch the wind and push them from one feeding ground to the next.

When the seasons change wind patterns, huge colonies of the jellies can end up stranded on the shore.

Young killer whale strands on Scottish beach

A juvenile killer whale was heroically rescued in January after getting stranded on a Scottish beach. A group of trained medics carried a rescue on an island off the coast of Scotland. 

The animal was healthy and old enough to survive on its own, so it was brought to the deep water and sent off.

A truck-size basking shark

In January, local fishermen got stunned by witnessing a male basking shark measuring 26 feet (8 meters) long. It was the size of a pickup truck and it washed on the coast of Bremen. Marine researchers still aren't sure about the cause of his death.

Twisted 'rope pile' on a Texas beach

The creature looks like a tangled snarl of yellow rope, but it is actually a type of coral known as a colorful sea whip. 

Many commenters have said that they had seen colourful sea whips on the beach before, but had always assumed that the creatures were trash, such as discarded cords or part of a fishing net.

40 refloated whales in New Zealand

On a February morning on a remote beach in New Zealand, hundreds of people gathered when 49 long-finned pilot whales beached themselves.

Nine of them died during the stranding while the rescue group looked after the surviving whales throughout the day, keeping their skin cool and moist and preventing their fins from being crushed beneath their beached bodies. Later on, they were herded back by volunteers into the deep water.

Toxic tarballs wash up on Israel's coastline

The Israel oil spill turned into tar balls — small concentrated blobs of congealed oil were formed for several days because rough sea conditions from a storm broke up the slick and mixed it into the seawater.

It was described by officials as "one of the most serious ecological disasters" the country had ever seen.

Amazon 'river monster' turns up dead in Florida

A dead body of an Amazon "river monster" was found rotting by Florida locals near the Gulf of Mexico, and it became a worrisome issue as several people got disturbed with the thought that this beast might become the state's latest invasive species. But this so-called monster, the arapaima (Arapaima gigas), faces many hurdles before it can call Florida home.