In an unprecedented discovery, researchers have documented the first live sighting of the Gonatus antarcticus off the coast of Antarctica, as part of the National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Expedition. The Antarctic gonate squid was filmed gliding through the dark waters of the ocean’s midnight zone, located 7,060 feet (2,152 meters) beneath the surface, on December 25, 2024.
Using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) deployed from the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel, the R/V Falkor (too), the team captured footage of the three-foot-long (0.9 m) blood-red squid. The video was sent to Kat Bolstad, head of the Lab for Cephalopod Ecology and Systematics at Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, who verified the species.
“This is, to the best of my knowledge, the first live footage of this animal worldwide,” Bolstad told National Geographic.
Despite being known to science for over a century, the Antarctic gonate squid had previously only been observed in its dead form—either caught in fishing nets or found as beaks within the stomachs of other marine creatures. This encounter marks the first observation of the squid in its natural habitat.
Residing in the bathypelagic zone, or midnight zone, which extends from 3,300 to 13,100 feet (1,000 to 4,000 m) below the ocean’s surface, this region receives no natural light. Instead, illumination is provided by bioluminescent organisms, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
When approached by the ROV, the squid expelled a cloud of greenish ink, possibly alarmed by the ROV’s large presence. Researchers briefly followed the creature, using the ROV’s lasers for size measurements, before it swiftly disappeared into the darkness, as reported by National Geographic. Although they could not ascertain the squid’s sex or age, Bolstad identified it as an Antarctic gonate squid by noting the distinctive large hook at the ends of its elongated tentacles.