During a recent exploration of the Weddell Sea in the Southern Ocean, scientists caught a “historic” first sighting of a rare deep-sea squid called Gonatus antarcticus—and yes, they got a video. Thanks to social media, we can all now look upon this elusive species from the comfort of our homes.
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The National Geographic Society recently shared footage of the squid captured by the ROV SuBastian and the Schmidt Ocean Institute. “You are looking at striking footage of the elusive squid, Gonatus antarcticus, seen alive in the wild for the first time,” wrote the National Geographic Society in its post sharing the video.
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NatGeo goes on to describe the squid as three feet long, saying it only lives in the frigid waters surrounding Antarctica. The ROV captured the footage at approximately 7,060 feet. Its typical depth is part of the reason no one’s been able to find one of these animals alive before.
The squid appears to shimmer as it floats calmly in the dark, still waters of the deep. The scientists weren’t even supposed to be where they were when they spotted the rare animal, making this a very lucky chance encounter. In the end, their change of plans turned serendipitous.
See the first video of a live, rare deep-sea squid here:
Header image is a concept image of deep underwater ocean exploration with submarine or ROV by gremlin/Getty Images
