For a century, the enormous squid was mostly a myth—bits of tentacle removed from sperm whales‘ stomachs, partially digested proof of something massive existing far below the surface of the earth. Scientists were aware of its presence. They were unable to demonstrate that it was alive. That all changed on March 9th, when a remotely operated vehicle descended through the chilly black water close to the South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic and caught something that no one in the field had ever seen: a massive squid that was alive, breathing, and drifting.
The video was taken during a 35-day Ocean Census expedition by the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor (too), which was intended to find new and undiscovered marine life. The ROV, called SuBastian, was lowered to 600 meters, which is about the depth at which sunlight completely disappears, and its cameras were transmitting live footage to the mission control room of the ship. A small, translucent creature that was about 30 centimeters long from tip to tentacle and no longer than a ruler caught the attention of someone watching that live feed. Aaron Evans, an independent squid biologist, received a screenshot. He gave Auckland University of Technology’s Kat Bolstad a call. They closely examined the video, noting the fins’ shape, the tentacles’ arrangement, and the tiny but distinct hooks along the arms. Evans then began to hyperventilate, according to his own account.
Anyone who knows what this species stands for would probably understand that response. The world’s heaviest invertebrate is the enormous squid, Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni. Adults can weigh nearly 500 kg and grow up to seven meters in length. They have the largest eyes ever recorded in the animal kingdom, measuring 27 centimeters across and wider than soccer balls. The longer tentacles have 360-degree rotating hooks that are probably used to grasp prey that doesn’t want to be grasped. The juvenile captured on camera showed none of this. Instead, the cameras captured something truly surprising: a tiny, nearly delicate, see-through animal floating through the darkness, seemingly unaware that human technology had discovered it.
At a press conference on April 15th, Bolstad stated it clearly. “We get to introduce the live colossal squid to the world as this beautiful, little, delicate animal.” A creature that has spent a century being described through the wreckage of digestion and the evidence of violence left in whale stomachs finally appears on camera looking frail rather than menacing, and there’s something almost poetic about that framing. The reality of what it becomes as an adult is not erased by it. However, it adds complexity to the mythology in a way that seems genuinely significant.
It is still mostly unknown what happens to this animal between its transparent juvenile and opaque red adult stages. There is a big knowledge gap. The reproductive habits, migration patterns, and lifespan of the enormous squid remain unclear to scientists. Dying animals dragged into light and pressure changes don’t reveal much about normal behavior, and the few specimens that have been studied came from fishing vessels that unintentionally hauled them up from the deep. Despite its briefness, this footage provides the first glimpse of what this species’ typical behavior looks like.
It’s important to remember that just a few weeks prior in January, the Falkor (too) had captured the first verified footage of the glacial glass squid in the Bellingshausen Sea close to Antarctica, making back-to-back historic squid sightings on consecutive expeditions from the same vessel. Jyotika Virmani, executive director of the Schmidt Ocean Institute, called it “remarkable,” which seems like an understatement. At least four squid species have now been captured in first-confirmed wild footage by the ROV SuBastian. That is not fortuitous. It’s an indication of how systematically understudied the deep ocean remains and how much is waiting at 600 meters for anyone with the patience to go have a look.
Watching this story develop gives me the impression that the ocean has been subtly holding things back, not because of secrecy but rather because no one had the right camera in the right location at the right moment. The enormous squid did not appear out of nowhere. It was always there, expanding enormously in the darkness, completely unaffected by the century of human curiosity aimed at it from above. To be honest, that indifference may be the most striking detail of all.
