Latest news with #KatBolstad
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
This Squid Was Discovered in 1898. Scientists Just Saw It Alive For the First Time.
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: The Antarctic gonate squid, Gonatus antarcticus, had never been seen alive in the ocean until 2024, when it was filmed by an ROV late in the year. That footage has finally been released All that was known about this creature—which was first discovered in 1898—came from dead specimens that showed up in fishing nets. If it wasn't for hazardous weather that forced the expedition to stop short of the area it planned to cover, Gonatus antarcticus might have slipped into the darkness unnoticed. Far beneath the glaciers and ice floes of the Weddell Sea are dark Antarctic waters that have gone mostly uninfluenced by humans. Thousands of feet down lurk bizarre creatures: slithering deep-sea ribbon worms, siphonophores, sea pigs, and a species of squid that had never been seen alive until centuries after it first washed up on the shore. On board the Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor (too) in December of 2024, a team of scientists were exploring the Weddell Sea at depths of about 7,000 feet with the ROV SuBastian when they saw a flash of red in the darkness. Right at the edge of the Powell basin, SuBastian captured video footage of a massive squid drifting by and releasing a cloud of greenish ink. For the next few minutes, the squid floated around SuBastian, and the team managed to turn down the ROV's lights (to get an idea of how the squid interacts with its environment) and measure the creature using lasers before it shot away into the shadows. The squid sighting caught the attention of environmental scientist Kat Bolstad of Auckland University in New Zealand. When she later reviewed the video, she was able to identify the creature as Gonatus antarcticus, the elusive Antarctic gonate squid. 'This is, to the best of my knowledge, the first live footage of this animal worldwide,' Bolstad told National Geographic. Gonatus antarcticus had been discovered by Einar Lönnberg—a Swedish zoologist who had gone on an expedition to Tierra del Fuego—at the extreme southern tip of South America in 1898. He first discovered a deceased specimen stranded in the Strait of Magellan, and collected already dead specimens that had been entangled in fishing nets. Closer study revealed that the squid showed significant differences from close cousin Gonatus fabricii, which was the only known Gonatus species at the time. It was only from these observations (and beaks of the animal lodged in the stomachs of predators) that Lönnberg and the scientists who followed him were able to find out anything about this mysterious squid. Lönnberg described the new species of squid he discovered as having a 'very slender mantle, very long tail, and soft body' with 'long, narrow fins, long stout tentacles and small tentacle clubs.' Its arms were 'short, thick and muscular' while its tentacles were 'long with relatively small club[s], large central hook[s] and medium-size distal hook[s].' At three feet long, the Antarctic gonate squid may not grow to the enormity of the giant squid or the equally-ellusive colossal squid (which was also first seen alive by SuBastian in January of 2025), but it is still a rare find. So little is known about the numbers and whereabouts of these cephalopods that it is difficult to gauge how many populate the Southern Sea. What G. antarcticus does have in common with its larger cousins, however, is its red coloration, which is actually a clever type of camouflage shared by many creatures in the twilight and midnight zones. Wavelengths of red light cannot penetrate waters so deep, so they appear black and just about invisible to predators. It seemed that the squid on SuBastian's footage had possibly gotten into a scuffle with something larger—possibly a colossal squid, based on the scratches along its mantle that suspiciously resembled hook marks. The squid might have never been discovered if it hadn't been for hazardous weather conditions that Christmas Eve. On an expedition sponsored by the National Geographic Society as a part of their Rolex Perpetual Planet Ocean Expeditions partnership, the team was planning to look into the unexplored Powell Basin—an abyssal plain that reaches nearly ten thousand feet deep. But an onslaught of ice made them rethink their plans, and they decide to drop SuBastian just outside the basin instead. 'What are the odds?" researcher Manuel Novillo from Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (who was also a member of Bolstad's team) told National Geographic. 'We were not supposed to be there and not at that precise moment.' You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Haunting blood-red squid with large hooks drifts through Antarctic ocean's midnight zone in world-first video
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. An elusive species of deep-sea squid has been seen alive for the first time off Antarctica, National Geographic has announced. Researchers filmed the Antarctic gonate squid (Gonatus antarcticus) drifting through the black waters of the ocean's midnight zone, 7,060 feet (2,152 meters) below the surface, on Dec. 25, 2024. As first reported by National Geographic, researchers spotted the 3-foot-long (0.9 m) blood-red creature using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), which had been deployed from the Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel, the R/V Falkor (too). They sent the footage to Kat Bolstad, head of the Lab for Cephalopod Ecology and Systematics at Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, who confirmed it was an Antarctic gonate squid. "This is, to the best of my knowledge, the first live footage of this animal worldwide," Bolstad told National Geographic. Related: Elusive colossal squid finally caught on camera 100 years after discovery in world 1st footage — and it's tiny Scientists have known about the Antarctic gonate squid for more than 100 years, but they have previously only seen dead specimens caught in fishing nets or beaks that had been 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, 3,300 to 13,100 feet (1,000 to 4,000 m) below the ocean's surface. No sunlight can penetrate that far into the ocean, so the midnight zone's only light comes from animals that can illuminate themselves with bioluminescence, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). RELATED STORIES —Watch extremely rare footage of a bigfin squid 'walking' on long, spindly arms deep in the South Pacific —Rare video shows elusive deep-sea squid cradling her gigantic, translucent eggs —Elusive 'octopus squid' with world's largest biological lights attacks camera in striking new video The squid released a cloud of greenish ink when the ROV approached, potentially startled by the presence of a large, bright vehicle in its environment. The researchers followed the animal for a few minutes, using the ROV's lasers to measure its size, before the squid shot away into the darkness, National Geographic reported. While researchers couldn't determine the sex or age of the animal, Bolstad confirmed it was an Antarctic gonate squid by observing the presence of a single, large hook on the ends of its two longer tentacles. "The impressive tentacle hooks are probably used for grasping and subduing prey during ambush predation," 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.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists Take First Ever Video of Colossal Squid in the Wild... With One Comical Issue
An international team of scientists from the Schmidt Ocean Institute have captured the first ever footage of a colossal squid — the terrors of the sea that are legendary for both their monstrous proportions and elusiveness — roaming in its natural habitat. But to say it's a big discovery might be misleading. Found lurking in the depths of the South Atlantic Ocean, the specimen is a juvenile mollusk, measuring barely a foot in length. With a transparent body, you might mistake it for some form of jellyfish at first. Mainly, it's the tiny tentacles that betray its true identity. It's no Kraken sighting, in other words. But so rare are these deep sea predators that any footage at all is invaluable. And besides, witnessing one as a baby isn't without its charm or scientific insight. "I actually love that this is our first glimpse of what will become a true giant," Kat Bolstad, a cephalopod biologist at the Auckland University of Technology who helped verify the video, told The New York Times. "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," Kat added in a statement, per NPR. The footage was captured using a remotely operated vehicle dubbed SuBastian, at a depth of around 2,000 feet in March. Researchers on the expedition sent the footage to Bolstad, who confirmed that the specimen on display was indeed the famed creature, albeit in miniature. Colossal squids inhabit the cold depths of the Antarctic seas. As adults, they can grow up to 23 feet long — and perhaps close to twice that if you measure from tip to the ends of their tentacles — and weigh around 1,100 pounds. They shouldn't be confused with giant squids, which grow to similar lengths but are slenderer and less heavy, favoring more temperate waters. The colossal squid's existence was first discovered secondhand, through their chewed-up remains found in the stomach of a sperm whale in 1925. It wasn't until 1981 that a living full adult specimen was caught accidentally by fishermen. And nearly a century on, we still have a lot to learn about these mysterious creatures, which may in fact be trying to avoid humans. "They're very aware of their surroundings, because any disturbance in the water column around them might mean a predator," Bolstad told the NYT. Fully grown colossal squids boast the largest eyes in the animal kingdom, at roughly the size of a basketball, making them extremely adept at spying both prey and predators in the dark waters they call home. Finding more won't be easy, but this discovery is an encouraging reminder that it's possible. With any luck, the next one that the team spots will live up to its behemoth reputation. "I can't wait to see what a live adult colossal squid looks like, at home in the deep sea where it belongs," Bolstad told the NYT. More on marine life: Scientists Revive Organism Found Buried at Bottom of Ocean
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
We've never seen footage of a colossal squid until now — and it's a baby
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The elusive colossal squid has finally been caught on camera, an entire century after it was first discovered. A team of scientists aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor filmed a not-so-colossal juvenile measuring 11.8 inches (30 centimeters) long as it swam through the ocean near the South Sandwich Islands at a depth of around 1,968 feet (600 meters). The video, which was captured on March 9 in the South Atlantic Ocean by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) named SuBastian, shows the translucent baby squid gently swimming through the abyss of the deep ocean, with its tiny tentacles dangling behind it. "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," Kat Bolstad, a squid researcher at the the Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, who was an independent scientific expert consulted to verify the footage, said in a statement. "For 100 years, we have mainly encountered them as prey remains in whale and seabird stomachs and as predators of harvested toothfish." Colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) are bigger than even the famous giant squid (Architeuthis dux). They are considered the largest invertebrates on the planet, measuring up to 46 feet (14 m) long — as long as a semitrailer — and weighing as much as 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms). They have the largest eyes of any known animal, which can measure up to 11 inches (27 cm) across — about the size of a soccer ball. These bizarre creatures live deep beneath the Antarctic waters of the Southern Ocean. They live deeper and deeper with age, with the youngest and smallest squid being found down to about 1,640 feet (500 m), adolescents living between 1,600 and 6,600 feet (500 to 2,000 m), and fully grown adults living even deeper. This year marks 100 years since the colossal squid was formally identified and named, but in the century since, very few have ever been seen. The species was first discovered after two of its arms were found in the stomach of a sperm whale during the winter of 1924-1925. RELATED STORIES —Elusive 'octopus squid' with world's largest biological lights attacks camera in striking new video —Watch extremely rare footage of a bigfin squid 'walking' on long, spindly arms deep in the South Pacific —'She turns her siphon into a gun': Watch coconut octopus firing stones at fish in world-1st footage The new video is the first-ever live observation of this species in its natural habitat. Dying adult colossal squid have been filmed by fishermen, and the first complete specimen was captured in 2007 by a fishing vessel near Antarctica. Most of what we know about this species and its lifestyle comes from beaks found in sperm whale stomachs. Only 12 complete colossal squid specimens had ever been found as of 2015, and about half of those were juveniles. The scientists on the previous Falkor expedition in January also filmed the first-ever confirmed footage of the glacial glass squid (Galiteuthis glacialis), which had also never been observed in its natural habitat before now. "The first sighting of two different squids on back-to-back expeditions is remarkable and shows how little we have seen of the magnificent inhabitants of the Southern Ocean," Jyotika Virmani, Schmidt Ocean Institute's executive director, said in the statement. "These unforgettable moments continue to remind us that the ocean is brimming with mysteries yet to be solved."
Observer
12-05-2025
- Science
- Observer
It Took a Century to Find This Colossal Squid
In March, Kat Bolstad returned from an Antarctic expedition where she had used a new camera system specially built to search for the elusive colossal squid. No one had captured footage of one of these animals swimming in the deep sea. She didn't spot one on this voyage either. On the day she left the ship, though, Bolstad, a deep sea cephalopod biologist, learned about a recent video taken March 9 from the South Sandwich Islands. A team searching for new marine life and remotely using a Schmidt Ocean Institute submersible, had happened upon a young cephalopod, and people wanted Bolstad's help identifying it. The juvenile was about 30 centimeters long (a little less than a foot), with a transparent body, delicate arms and brown spots. It was a colossal squid. 'Pretty much as soon as I saw the footage, I knew there was a good chance,' said Bolstad, a cephalopod biologist at the Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand. She consults remotely for Schmidt's Antarctic work. It's been 100 years since the colossal squid was formally described in a scientific paper. In its adult form, the animal is larger than the giant squid, or any other invertebrate on Earth, and can grow to 6 or 7 meters long, or up to 23 feet. Scientists' first good look at the species in 1925 was incomplete — just arm fragments from two squid in the belly of a sperm whale. Adults are thought to spend most of their time in the deep ocean. A full-grown colossal squid occasionally appears at the ocean's surface, drawn up to a fishing boat while it's 'chewing on' a hooked fish, Bolstad said. Younger specimens have turned up in trawl nets. Yet until now, humans had not witnessed a colossal squid at home, swimming in the deep Antarctic sea. One reason they're so elusive is the sheer size of that home. Additionally, the squid are probably avoiding us, Bolstad said. 'They're very aware of their surroundings, because any disturbance in the water column around them might mean a predator.' Sperm whales, the squid's main predator, can dive up to 2 kilometers (1.25 miles). Perhaps to help them avoid the whales, colossal squid have evolved the world's largest eyes — bigger than a basketball. They also have 'a unique combination of suckers and hooks on the arms and the tentacles,' Bolstad said, which is how she was able to confirm that the young sea creature in the new footage was a colossal squid. The footage was taken by a remotely operated submersible called SuBastian, which the Schmidt Ocean Institute uses to explore the deep sea. This particular dive was a partnership with Ocean Census, an initiative to discover unknown species. The submersible stopped for a few minutes on descent to film the small, transparent cephalopod. 'I think it's very exciting,' said Christine Huffard, a biologist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California who wasn't involved in the expedition. Huffard has used other remotely operated submersibles in her research. She said these exploratory missions have 'tremendous value.' For example, her observations of octopuses walking bipedally on the ocean floor — using two arms to stroll, and the other six to possibly camouflage themselves as a clump of algae or a coconut — happened by chance. The findings have been useful to researchers in soft robotics, she said. Capturing footage of rarely seen marine animals like the colossal squid, Huffard said, can also inform decisions about human activities like deep-sea mining. She said it would help to know where these animals spend their time, where they travel to mate or spawn, or how long they live. The young colossal squid in the video was swimming around 600 meters down, Bolstad said, not in the deeper waters where adults likely dwell. Other deep-sea squids spend their early lives in shallower waters, she said. Having a transparent body may help the baby swim undetected by predators before it descends as an opaque, reddish adult to the darker ocean. A submersible's camera can detect the squid — and transmit images instantaneously. Unlike the scientists of a century ago, who had to dig through partly digested carnage in a whale's belly, anyone could watch the Schmidt 'dive-stream' from home to be part of the moment of finding the colossal squid, Bolstad said. 'To be able to participate in these explorations and discoveries, essentially in real time, from anywhere on the planet — that's an amazing thing that humans can do.' She'll continue looking for a full-grown animal. 'I can't wait to see what a live adult colossal squid looks like, at home in the deep sea where it belongs,' she said. But she said she was also glad that the first sighting of the species in the wild was not of the adult version — an enormous, hook-wielding leviathan, but 'this beautiful early life stage that looks like a little glass sculpture.' 'I actually love that this is our first glimpse of what will become a true giant,' Bolstad said. —NYT
