This species, as an adult, can become 7 meters long and weigh half a tonne
For the first time in history, the scientists recorded a video of a live colossal squid, the largest invertebrate on the planet. The video, made in the depths of the southern Atlantic Ocean by the Schmidt Ocean Institute of California, shows the creature in all its extraordinary peculiarity: a semi -transparent body and eight long pink tentacles.
Colossal squid can reach 7 meters in length and weigh up to 500 kilograms, which makes them invertebrates more massive than the earth. However, the video specimen – which appears as a fragile glass sculpture – is still young, with a length of just 30 centimeters. Although in the past, dying specimens have been documented, found by fishermen, no one had ever observed a colossal squid alive in its natural environment.
The discovery was led by Dr. Michelle Taylor of the University of ASSEX, who described images as “drugs” and “wonderful”. The sighting took place on March 9 of this year, about 600 meters deep near the southern sandwich islands, thanks to the Subastian remote controlled underwater vehicle, which broadcast the images from the expedition to live streaming.
This exceptional event comes exactly a century after the first documented discovery of the species, which occurred in 1925, when some remains were discovered in the stomach of a hunted sperm whale.
The largest colossal squid ever recorded, a female, was instead captured in 2007 by a New Zealand fishing in the sea of Ross, off the coast of Antarctica. The animal, now dying, was photographed and subsequently transported to New Zealand to be studied.
