The world's deepest squid was discovered 20,000 feet under the water.

pixabay.com

The bigfin squid was discovered thousands of feet deeper than the previous record holder.

Researchers searched for a WWII destroyer shipwreck in the Philippine Sea and found video evidence of the world's deepest-swimming squid.

The young bigfin squid (family Magnapinnidae) became an instant record holder when it swam just above the floor of the Philippine Trench at a staggering 20,300 feet (6,200 meters) below the surface. It blew the previous champ, another bigfin squid swimming about 15,400 feet (4,700 m) below the Pacific Ocean, out of the water.

A recent study found four dumbo octopuses—better known as cirrate octopuses for their elephant-ear-like fins—at the same depth. This is only the second time dumbos have been sighted so deep, demonstrating that prior observations of the floppy-finned cephalopods in the Java Trench were not just a fluke, according to research co-author Michael Vecchione.

In an email to Dwell Science, NOAA's Vecchione, curator of cephalopods at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., said, "This dive revealed various varieties of cephalopods may live in at least the upper regions" of these incredibly deep ocean trenches.

"How do bigfin squids manage to exist physiologically at depths ranging from 3,200 to 19,600 feet (1000 to 6000 m)," where air pressures can be up to 600 times greater than at the ocean's surface?" Vecchione asked.

During a search for the wreckage of the USS Johnston, a Navy destroyer that sank during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944, researchers discovered the bigfin As Victor Vescovo did in June of 2020 with his manned submersible DSV Limiting Factor (the same model as the Mariana Trench dive), the researchers documented their descent to the bottom of the Philippine Trench, where they spent more than four hours exploring.

The bigfin squid was found slightly above the water floor during the expedition. The researchers identified the squid based on its huge back fins and characteristic swimming stance, even though the sub was hovering too high to get a clear picture. According to researchers, the young cephalopod was based on the squid's comparatively small tentacles.

The findings were published in Marine Biology on December 2, 2021.

Reference : https://www.livescience.com/worlds-deepest-squid-philippine-trench

Image source : https://www.livescience.com/worlds-deepest-squid-philippine-trench

How deep giant squid are found?

Where was the giant squid spotted?

How far down does the bigfin squid live?

Is there a giant squid at the bottom of the ocean?

Has anyone ever caught a giant squid?

What eats a giant squid?