Until now, the Gonatus antarcticus squid had never been seen alive. Photo: Nat Geo
The Gonatus antarcticus squid is one of the world’s most elusive creatures. Up until now, it has never been seen alive. But on Christmas Day of 2024, researchers on the National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Expedition exploring the depths of the Southern Ocean captured the first-ever footage of the three-foot-long deep-sea squid.
The researchers were aboard the the R/V Falkor — a vessel that has a pretty great track record for finding cool things in the ocean — when they spotted the squid. It’s only found in the waters off Antarctica, and until this sighting, had only been seen in carcasses in fishing nets or when the beaks are found in the stomachs of other animals.
“Footage of the squid shows the animal with scratches on its arms and fresh-looking sucker marks on its mantle but otherwise shows it is in good shape,” National Geographic wrote in a press release. “Spotted at a depth of approximately 2,152 meters in the Weddell Sea, researchers have not been able to confirm the squid’s sex from the footage, nor age, but the discovery is a reminder of how much more there is to learn about the relatively unexplored polar regions of our world’s ocean.”
Dr. Kathrin Bolstad, a squid expert who helped positively identify the squid’s species, the large single central hook on each tentacle club was the clincher. The expedition was a busy one. As well as getting the first-ever footage of the Gonatus antarcticus, the researchers mapped a handful of sites that were previously un-explored in the Southern Ocean, hitting depths of over 13,000 feet. They pulled samples of sediment and water from those areas with the intent of studying the health of Southern Ocean deep-sea habitats that are full of abyssal plains, hydrothermal vents, troughs, soaring canyon walls, and sea ice.
“This work was conducted aboard the 110-meter global ocean-class R/V Falkor in collaboration with the Schmidt Ocean Institute, which provided National Geographic explorers the opportunity to leverage its state-of-the-art tools and capabilities during its maiden voyage to the Southern Ocean,” a press release reads. “Part of the National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Ocean Expedition, the mission was to provide a comprehensive scientific examination of the impact of climate and environmental change in and around the Weddell Sea, an area prioritized for marine protection and one of the few near-pristine ecosystems on the planet.”
