Researchers at the Schmidt Ocean Institute have released the very first captured video footage of the colossal squid.
This creature was discovered over a century ago, but no living specimen has ever been discovered. The entirety of our understanding of this creature comes from discovering dead bodies washed up on shore.
Searching the vast oceans trying to find them in their natural habitat has been a journey. But now, that journey has opened up a new chapter.
The video was taken in the southern Atlantic Ocean, near the South Sandwich Islands. In the video, a juvenile colossal squid, or Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni at parties, was found at nearly 2,000 feet (600 meters) down.
Small Discovery
The video was captured by SuBastian, an underwater drone deployed by the research vessel Falkor (too) back in March. The estimated maximum size of a colossal squid is around 23 feet long (7 meters) and up to 1,100 lbs (500 kg). The squid in the footage is about 1 foot in length.
The squid lost some of its “baby features,” such as stalked eyes that stick out the side of its head. Rather, the eyes are part of the head, and the head and body are more proportional to one another, said Dr. Aaron Evans, an independent researcher and an expert on Cranchiidae, the glass squid family, which the colossal squid belongs.
Evans, who did not participate in the expedition, independently verified the species along with Dr. Kat Bolstad, associate professor at New Zealand’s Auckland University of Technology. Dr. Bolstad is the narrator of the video linked above.
“We could think of this maybe as a teenager squid,” Evans said during a news conference Tuesday. “It’s not quite an adult. It hasn’t fully matured yet. It’s still got a lot of growing to do. But it’s not a baby either. So, it’s a very exciting specimen for us to examine. For us to see this kind of midrange size in between a hatchling and an adult is really exciting because it gives us the opportunity to fill in some of those missing puzzle pieces to the life history of this very mysterious animal.”
Double Discovery
This discovery is all the more intriguing when learning that the previous Falkor (too) expedition in January also captured footage of an elusive squid. Investigating the ocean near Antarctica, video was taken of the glacial glass squid, Galiteuthis glacialis, which also was previously never seen alive in its natural habitat.
“The first sighting of two different squids on back-to-back expeditions is remarkable and shows how little we have seen of the magnificent inhabitants of the Southern Ocean,” Dr. Jyotika Virmani, Schmidt Ocean Institute’s executive director, said in a statement.
These discoveries allowing scientists to confirm the species’ living space, opens a new window into ocean life.
Very little is understood about life and behavior of colossal squid. The majority of what scientists have found has been second-hand. Dead bodies washed onto shore, remains found within the stomachs of whales, seabirds, or other predatory fish.
Video Gives New Insights
Bolstad and Evans carefully reviewed the footage to search for identifying features of the colossal squid. Squids have eight shorter arms, two longer tentacles. Something distinguishing the colossal squid, is hooks in the middle of its eight arms. Evans said he began hyperventilating with excitement when he noticed the hooks.
“I have been researching deep-sea squids, including the colossal, since the early 2000s, and I can say that this is honestly one of the most exciting observations that we’ve had across the time that I’ve been working on deep-sea cephalopods,” Bolstad said during the news conference. “One of the things I love about this footage is how delicate this animal appears to be. It looks like a glass sculpture. Looking at these animals … thriving and in that delicate state, and then thinking about what it takes for humans to even remotely get to that environment … it’s just a great reminder of how much we have left to learn from nature.”
Bolstad also remarked on the squid’s mantle showing large rusty red-brown chromatophores, or color-changing cells.
“(This) tells us that it almost certainly can switch back and forth between being completely transparent, which is how we see it, mostly in this footage, to being quite opaque,” Bolstad said. “And it probably has fine control over whether it can do that in certain regions of the body as well, which, again, we would have hypothesized, but we don’t know for sure until we see this animal.”
Bolstad noted that there was footage taken in Antarctica back in a 2023-2024 expedition of a glass squid, but the footage was not of high enough quality to ascertain which species was seen. Bolstad clarified that the colossal and giant squids are not the same species.
Sunken Treasure
The first discovery occurred back in January, as the Falkor (too) was investigating the seafloor. A Chicago-size iceberg had broken away from the George VI Ice Shelf.
Linley is the curator of fishes at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. He was in the ship’s control room as a remotely operated vehicle descended the depths of the Bellingshausen Sea. That’s when he saw something intriguing as SuBastian reached 2,254 feet (687 meters).
A glass squid floated into view, and Linley asked if the vehicle could pause during descent to capture footage.
“I know it’s a cute little squid, but this might be important,” Linley recalled saying. He shared the high-resolution footage with Bolstad. Evans was also brought in to review the imagery.
The juvenile colossal squid and the glacial glass squid appear similar, with both having hooks at the end of their two longer tentacles and transparent bodies.
But this particular glass squid observed during the descent held its arms loosely above its head in a maneuver called a cockatoo pose, which has been observed previously in glass squids.
Together, Bolstad and Evans were able to confirm that they were seeing a glacial glass squid in its frigid, deep environment for the first time.
The Search Continues
Neither the Glass or Colossal squids observed seemed to mind the vehicles. They didn’t flee, hide, or attack, but simply floated there casually. They appear to be cautiously watching, determining if the strange glowing robot were a threat.
The adult colossal squid, however, still remains unseen. It is believed to be much more hyper sensitive to risks, and avoids detection.
“From their perspective, any time something large is coming forward, it’s not a good thing,” Evans said. “The adult colossal squid remains mysterious and enigmatic because it has these senses, which allow it to see us. The colossal squid is limited to Antarctica, where we don’t get the opportunity to research quite as frequently. So, it’s going to take us a bit longer for us to have that chance encounter where we get it on film.”
The Falkor (too) won’t return to Antarctica until 2028, but will be off the coast of South America until then. The vehicles dives and recordings are streamed live on Schmidt Ocean Institute’s youtube channel for all to see.
“Now that we have the ability to share (dives) in real time in this way and show people how beautiful the things are, how many things remain to be discovered, and that people can come along with us as we make these discoveries, I feel like our ability to appreciate the deep sea on a much wider scale is moving towards where it should have been all along,” Bolstad said.
