Overview
- MBARI researchers recorded the encounter on Aug. 7 during a NOAA-supported Seamount Hotspots expedition, marking the first confirmed live bigfin squid observation in the northeastern Pacific.
- The animal was filmed by the uncrewed submersible Doc Ricketts near Davidson Seamount at about 10,751 feet (3,277 meters) and was estimated to measure roughly 4.1 feet (1.25 meters) from body to tips of its arms and tentacles.
- Researchers observed the squid holding its long arms and tentacles bent at a 90-degree ‘‘elbow pose,’’ a posture that MBARI deep-sea ecologist Olívia Soares Pereira says may help the animal passively capture prey.
- Scientific knowledge of Magnapinna remains limited because fewer than roughly 70 individuals have ever been seen or collected and no known adult specimen has been physically recovered, so study depends mainly on photos and video.
- The sighting highlights seamounts in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary as rich study sites and shows how ROV and submersible surveys are expanding regional records and pointing to next steps like targeted sampling and longer behavioral observation.