Multiple sightings of mysterious bigfin squid documented in the Great Australian Bight

A team of researchers from the CSIRO Energy, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization and Museums Victoria has documented multiple sightings of bigfin squid in the depths of the Great Australian Bight.

In their paper published in PLOS ONE, the group describes their study of the unique creatures and what they learned about them.

Bigfin squid live deep in the ocean and are noteworthy for several reasons. The first is that they are rarely seen in the wild—researchers have documented just 12 sightings.

They also have unique fins that jut out from the side of the head at an angle that resembles Dumbo's ears—and they serve the same purpose, though in the water instead of the air.

They also have long tentacles that are multiple times longer than their bodies. And they live thousands of meters deep in the ocean.

Continued...
Source

Credit: PLOS ONE (2020). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241066

Sighting 3: ROV images of a Magnapinna squid at a depth of 3060 m.

(A) Close view of the Magnapinna squid encountered 5.3 m above the seafloor with proximal arms/tentacles seen slightly opened and fins undulating slowly.

(B) Full extent of arms/tentacles, the longest being approximately 1680 mm.

Source / Image Courtesy

Bigfin squid filmed in Australian waters for the first time

A team of researchers led by the CSIRO has spotted the elusive bigfin squid in Australian waters for the first time.

Two voyages to the Great Australian Bight, one in 2015 and another in 2017, recorded the cephalopod in waters kilometres below the ocean's surface.

Bigfin squid – also known as magnapinna – can measure up to seven metres in length

Magnapinna squids are rarely seen cephalopods common worldwide in great depths usually only accessible by ROVs.

Last week, Dr. Nathan Robinson, alongside Dr. Edie Widder, captured the first-ever footage of the giant squid in US waters.

This is only the second time the giant squid has been filmed in the wild (the first time was, in Japan, 2012).