Colossal squid filmed for the first time
For the first time since the species was discovered a century ago, a colossal squid has been filmed in its natural habitat. The 30cm (11.8in) animal, a juvenile, was captured on camera at a depth of 600m (1,968 ft) near the South Sandwich Islands in the southern Atlantic Ocean.
A team of researchers, led by an academic from the University of Essex, captured the footage in March. They were on a 35-day quest looking out for new marine life. This animal was recorded on the 100-year anniversary of the colossal squid being identified and named. The crew of the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Falkor vessel ysed a remote-controlled vehicle to record it.
A colossal squid can grow up to 7m (23ft), experts estimate. It can tip the scales at up to 500kg (1,100lb). This makes it the heaviest invertebrate found anywhere on earth.
The university’s Dr Michelle Taylor, the chief scientist, said that the team was not initially sure what the squid was. But they chose to film it because of how “beautiful and unusual” it was. Dr Kat Bolstad verified the footage. Previous colossal squid encounters, she said, had mostly been remains found in the stomachs of whales and seabirds.
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