Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Mysterious deep sea squid filmed at oil drilling site

This deep-sea creature, a Bigfin squid (Magnapinna sp.) was captured by the onboard video camera of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) hovering more than a mile and a half down at the Shell oil drilling site "Perdido" in the Gulf of Mexico. These rarely seen creatures are still enigmatic to science and not much is known about them. For example, why does the animal hold its tentacles in such a strange way, bent like elbows? One could speculate that its unusual posture somehow helps the Bigfin squid in capturing prey while it quietly and slowly drifts through the vast expanses of the deep sea.




Here is another video of a Bigfin squid, taken by the onboard camera of the ROV "Tiburon" while exploring the deeper waters off the coast of Oahu. Similar to what can be seen in the Shell video above, the creature hovers vertically in the water, with some of its tentacles bent in that elbow-like shape. ROV operators have estimated the size of Magnapinna squid by comparing them next to known features of the ROV in the video frames: The largest specimens captured on film measured 7 meters (23 feet) in length!


Now, watch what happens when the ROV starts closing in on the animal: It folds back its elbow-shaped tentacles and escapes with powerful flaps of its large fins:



More news from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
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