Discovered the largest fin squid in the world

The newly discovered largefin squid swam above the seabed at a depth of thousands of meters deeper than the old record.

The large fin squid swims under the submarine.

A team of researchers searching for World War II-era destroyer wrecks in the Philippine Sea filmed squid swimming at the greatest depths ever recorded. Surfing above the seabed in the 6,200 m deep Philippine Trench, the juvenile greatfin squid (Magnapinnidae) broke the previous record of an individual of its species swimming 4,700 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

The scientists also filmed four dumbo octopuses with elephant-ear-like fins at the same depth. According to study co-author Michael Vecchione, this is the second time dumbo octopuses have been seen at such great depths, proving that previous observations of this species in the Java Trench were not accidental.

"This dive reveals many species of molluscs that live in the upper reaches of the deep ocean trenches," said Vecchione, a zoologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and administrator. molluscs at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, said. The video also raises many questions, how the giant fin squid can live at depths of 1,000 - 6,000 m, where the pressure can be 600 times higher than the pressure at the sea surface.

Researchers discovered the great-finned squid in March 2021 while searching for the wreck of the US Navy destroyer USS Johnston, which sank in 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Using the manned submarine DSV Limiting Factor, the team recorded a deep dive in the Philippine Trench for more than four hours.

Vecchione and his colleagues spotted a giant fin squid above the seabed. Although the hovering submarine was too far away to capture detailed images of the squid, the researchers were able to observe its striking features such as its enormous black fins and swimming posture. Because the squid's tentacles are relatively short, the researchers speculate it's immature. They published their findings in December 2021 in the journal Marine Biology.