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Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
It took over 100 years for humans to see this squid alive for the first time
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, BGR may receive an affiliate commission. We've known about the existence of the rare Antarctic gonate squid since 1898. However, it has taken us over 100 years to actually see this squid alive. The creature dwells far beneath the glaciers of the Antarctic, and has been a long-sought-after discovery for over a century. But it took complete chance for scientists to catch sight of this rare creature for the first time. According to a new report shared by National Geographic, the Antarctic gonate squid first washed up on shore in the late 1800s. However, expeditions to the far southern areas of our world had never netted scientists with a live view of this rare squid. That was until last year, when scientists on board the Schmidt Ocean Institute's Falkor (too) had to stop short of their original planned study area due to hazardous weather. Today's Top Deals Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales Best Ring Video Doorbell deals Memorial Day security camera deals: Reolink's unbeatable sale has prices from $29.98 The result of that stop was our first look at this rare squid, which drifts through the cold waters of the dark Antarctic waters of the Weddell Sea. The squid was spotted roughly 7,000 feet below the surface, at the edge of an area known as the Powell Basin. The researchers watched as the squid drifted through the water, eventually releasing a cloud of greenish ink. Despite being known about for over a hundred years, many scientists believe this is the first look we have ever had of this rare squid in the wild and still alive. At roughly three feet long, the Antarctic gonate squid is not quite as large as some of the giant squids we've seen in the ocean. However, its elusiveness has made it that much more intriguing of a target for researchers. Little is known about the exact whereabouts of these rare squids, or how many are even still alive to this day. This discovery is also another reminder of just how vast and mysterious our oceans are. The fact that scientists continue to discover strange creatures at the bottom of the ocean is both exciting and somewhat terrifying. To put it into perspective, it is often said that we know more about the surface of Mars than we know about our own oceans. And that's saying a lot, because we still know so little about our neighboring planet, despite years of exploration by NASA's rovers. More Top Deals Amazon gift card deals, offers & coupons 2025: Get $2,000+ free See the
New York Times
11-06-2025
- Science
- New York Times
This Elusive Antarctic Squid Was Seen for the First Time
The deep-sea environs of the Earth's poles are home to mysterious ocean creatures: giant sea spiders, Antarctic sea pigs, phantom jellyfish. Finding and identifying these animals can be difficult, however; some are known only because researchers found their remains in fishing nets or in the bellies of seabirds. But on Christmas Day last year, the crew of the R/V Falkor (Too), the Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel, caught sight of a creature never before seen alive. The team had planned to deploy its remotely operated vehicle, SuBastian, in a site known as the Powell Basin, but the movement of ice blocks forced the group to explore the region's outer edges instead. When the submersible dropped 7,000 feet, the team unexpectedly spotted a shadow through the live feed, which turned out to be an Antarctic gonate squid, a rare species of cephalopod, three feet long and releasing a green cloud of ink. 'It was a beautiful squid,' said Andrew Thurber, a deep-sea researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who was aboard the vessel. 'You see beauty all the time in the deep ocean, and this was just one classic example of it.' No Antarctic gonate squid had ever been seen alive before, as far as the team was aware. They followed it for a couple of minutes and made sure to record it on video, capturing the creature's red coloration and white spots. 'Videos like this get me really excited,' said Linsey Sala, a museum scientist who manages the pelagic invertebrate collection at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and was not involved in the expedition. Discoveries of species like this 'can be really informative to how they live life at great depths,' Ms. Sala said. Unidentified specimens might be sitting in collections around the world, she added, in which case the video footage could be helpful in revealing what they are. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
