This is the first footage ever filmed of the Grimalditeuthis bonplandi, a deep-sea squid, captured on video by researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in California.
This squid is a fascinating one, not only because it’s a squid. It’s two tentacles and eight arms are unique because the animal doesn’t seem to have a way to lure or grab prey — no suckers, no hooks, no sticky pads, and no photophores, light-emitting cells that help creatures like the anglerfish hunt for food.
Scientists think that the creature is luring food by waving its tentacle clubs like small prey, perhaps encouraging other animals to flash their own deep sea lights, or by creating attractive, low frequency vibrations, or by making a path of turbulence in the water that causes prey to follow in hopes of food or a mate.
But it’s all a bit of educated guesswork until they get more video! For details, check out Scientific American. And then click here to stay underwater with some squids.
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