Nice News: A (Baby Colossal Squid was Caught on Camera for the First Time

A (Baby) Colossal Squid Was Caught on Camera for the First Time

ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute

One hundred years after the colossal squid was formally discovered and named as a species, scientists captured the first-ever footage of the animal swimming in its natural habitat. Since that initial finding in 1925, when a fisherman came upon remains inside the belly of a sperm whale, there have only been eight confirmed colossal squid sightings, and all have been postmortem, according to the Museum of New Zealand.


That makes the new recording, captured by a team aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel, pretty exceptional — and to make it even better, the squid caught on camera was a baby. “It’s exciting to see the first in situ footage of a juvenile colossal and humbling to think that they have no idea that humans exist,” Kat Bolstad, one of the independent scientific experts the institute consulted to verify the footage, said in a statement.
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Because of its age, the squid was only about a foot long at the time the video was taken, but adult colossal squids live up to their name, growing as long as 23 feet and weighing over 1,000 pounds. The young animal also appears transparent in the footage, something that goes away with age — but little else is known about the species’ life cycle. “These unforgettable moments continue to remind us that the ocean is brimming with mysteries yet to be solved,” said Schmidt Ocean Institute Executive Director Jyotika Virmani.

Note:  The above comes directly from their website.  Click here to read more.




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