FOUR SCIENTISTS, aflutter with discovery, announced that they were the first to film two rare squid species alive, in their natural environments.
They were part of a remote team and crew on board the research vessel “RV Falkor (too),” operated by the Schmidt Ocean Institute in Palo Alto.
The big find was a juvenile colossal squid, measuring nearly one foot. It was captured March 9 on high-definition video in the South Atlantic Ocean at a depth of 600 meters, or 1,968 feet.
The colossal squid was first identified a hundred years ago, according to the institute’s announcement. They have been hauled on deck by fishermen in the past but never seen alive in their deep-sea home. Adults are estimated to grow up to 23 feet and can weigh over a thousand pounds.
Michelle Taylor, of the University of Essex, was onboard as the principal investigator.
“We were focusing on the South Sandwich Islands, which is a really remote location globally, very rarely visited” Taylor on Tuesday said. “It took eight days of sailing all the way across the Scotia Sea to get to that location.”
The colossal squid should not be confused with the giant squid, which lives in tropical and temperate oceans. The fin-shaped colossal squid is only seen in Antarctica, and it is identified by distinctive hooks on its eight arms.
Much of the credit goes to advanced technology. A high definition video camera was mounted to the robotic submersible vessel lowered from the ship. Because the high-quality live video was transmitted live online, experts worldwide were able to analyze and identify the species in real time.
A second “first” happened on Jan. 25 during a previous expedition in the Bellingshausen Sea.
It was the first confirmed footage of the glacial glass squid. It too has also never been seen alive in its natural environment. On board was deep-sea expert Thom Linley, a fish curator from the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
“When we went to the Bellingshausen Sea,” Linley said. “An area the size of Chicago broke off the ice shelf and then politely got out of the way, and we were able to get in first and examine the seafloor.
He watched the footage from the vessel’s mission control room as the camera transmitted images from 2,254 feet deep. The rare glass squid positioned its arms loosely above its head, something he had observed in other glass squids, and he knew what he was seeing.
Such observations help scientists fill in life stage and habitat data gaps, particularly about the depths where adult and juvenile squids live and breed. The research sheds light on squid camouflage, how they evade predators and how their eyes adapt to different environments. Researchers are also developing non-intrusive camera systems with red light and simulated bioluminescence to attract and record more elusive squid.
First: Remotely Operated Vehicle “SuBastian” is recovered onto Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Research Vessel “Falkor (too)” while conducting research in the Bellingshausen Sea off Antarctica on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024. Last: Palo Alto, California’s Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Research Vessel “Falkor (too)” maneuvers around icebergs on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025 while conducting research in the Bellingshausen Sea off Antarctica. (Alex Ingle/Schmidt Ocean Institute via Bay City News)
The Institute will continue working in the South Atlantic for four more years, with a return to Antarctica expected in 2028.
Palo Alto’s Schmidt Ocean Institute was established in 2009 by Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
The 35-day expedition that captured the footage of the colossal squid was a collaboration between Schmidt Ocean Institute, the Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census, and GoSouth, a joint project between the University of Plymouth, in the U.K., GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, in Germany, and the British Antarctic Survey.
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