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Photo provided by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) on November 12, 2020 shows the Bigfin Squid. Researchers from the Australian National Science Agency filmed the elusive Bigfin Squid in Australian waters for the first time. On Thursday, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) revealed that a deep-sea voyage into the Great Australian Bight off the coast of South Australia (SA) captured footage of five squid two to three kilometers below the surface of the Ocean. (CSIRO / Dispensa via Xinhua)
Researchers from the Australian National Science Agency filmed the elusive Bigfin Squid in Australian waters for the first time.
On Thursday, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) revealed that a deep-sea voyage into the Great Australian Bight off the coast of South Australia (SA) captured footage of five squid two to three kilometers below the surface of the Ocean.
Named for their large flapping fins, squid have thin threads hanging from the ends of their tentacles that can grow up to eight meters in length.
According to Deborah Osterhage, a CSIRO marine scientist, there have only been about a dozen confirmed sightings of the squid in the world.
“Most of the previous reports were about the single Bigfin Squid, so it’s exciting to have recorded five on the Great Australian Bight,” he said in a press release.
“The differences in their appearance allowed us to confirm that 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.
Osterhage said they may know more about this elusive and intriguing deep-sea squid.
“We measured a Bigfin Squid using parallel laser measurement guides and found it was over 1.8 meters long, with filaments of arms and tentacles more than 11 times the length of the mantle (body).
“We also looked at their color and behaviors, including filament winding, a behavior never before seen in squid.”
The sightings were confirmed by Mike Vecchione, a zoologist at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC who scientifically named the bigfin squid family Magnapinnidae in 1998.
The discovery also marked one of the first times that creatures living near the seabed in the Great Australian Bight have been filmed.
“We also saw brightly colored corals, tulip-like glass sponges and many other beautiful and unusual animals,” said Osterhage.
“With each journey we take, we learn more about Australia’s vast deep marine environment and there is a lot to learn.”
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