Elusive ‘octopus squid’ with world’s largest biological lights attacks camera in stunning new video

One of the world’s rarest squid species put on a dazzling bioluminescent display as it attacked an underwater camera in the deep sea, new, extremely rare footage shows.

Researchers from the Minderoo Foundation and Deep Sea Research Centre of the University of Western Australia (UWA) captured the rare encounter, which occurred about 1,000 meters below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, using a baited free-fall camera that was dropped into the sea near the Samoa Passage, an area of deep water currents north of Samoa.

The team was on a research cruise to document biodiversity in the deepest part of the ocean – the hadal zone – when they discovered the rare creature.

The animal in the video is a Dana octopus squid (Taningia danae), a member of the family Octopoteuthidae that feeds on pelagic fish, crustaceans and other squid species.

Squid species within the family Octopoteuthidae have eight arms, which is why they are called Octopus SquidAs juveniles, they have two long tentacles in addition to their arms, but they lose these as they grow older.

Members of this species are known for their colossal size. The longest specimen ever reported was a 2.3 m long female, according to a Study from 2003The individual in the new video is about 75 centimeters long, according to a opinion from the UWA.

In the footage, the octopus suddenly emerges from the darkness, darts toward the camera, wraps its arms around it, and then quickly makes a run for it. Just before it latches onto the camera, the octopus displays a pair of bright, light-emitting organs, called luminoorgans, at the tips of two of its arms.

The species’ light organs – which emit flashes of light as a result of a chemical reaction – are the largest of their kind in the animal kingdom, the researchers wrote in the statement. But scientists have rarely seen the squid’s biological lights in action.

“When we reviewed the footage, we realized we had captured something very rare,” Heather Stewarta marine geologist and associate researcher at UWA, said in the statement. “I think we were very lucky to have witnessed this.”

Related: Black-eyed squid drags thousands of eggs behind it like a cape – video recorded off Costa Rica

Researchers believe The squids’ light organs help them stun their prey in the dark waters of the deep sea and possibly communicate with other individuals of the same species. These squids can change the pattern of the flashes by controlling the eyelid-like membranes that cover their light-producing organs, according to a Study 2017.

Screenshot of the squid Taningia danae, which glows with its large light organs at the tips of its arms.

Taningia danae have the largest luminous organs in the animal kingdom. (Image credit: UWA/Inkfish)

In the video, “the octopus lunged at our camera, thinking it was prey, and tried to scare it with its giant bioluminescent headlights,” Stewart said.

Overall, researchers know very little about the behavior of this species, because T. danae are rarely seen alive.

“Many finds of this type come from strandings, accidental bycatch or from the stomach contents of whales,” Alan JamiesonDirector of UWA’s Deep Sea Research Centre, said in the statement.

T. danae were first sighted alive only about 19 years ago by researchers using a similar camera system, according to a Study published in 2007And these squids have only been seen alive a few times since then.

“The rarity of live observations of these amazing animals makes each encounter valuable for gathering information on geographic locations, depth and behavior,” Jamieson said in the statement.

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