Bigfin squid

Bigfin squids are a group of rarely seen cephalopods with a distinctive morphology. They are
placed in the genus Magnapinna and family Magnapinnidae.[2] Although the family was described
only from larval, paralarval, and juvenile specimens, numerous video observations of much larger
squid with similar morphology are assumed to be adult specimens of the same family.[3]
The arms and tentacles of the squid are both extremely long, estimated at 4 to 8 m (13 to 26 ft).
These appendages are held perpendicular to the body, creating "elbows." How the squid feeds is yet
to be discovered.[4]
Magnapinna is thought to be the deepest-occurring squid genus, with sightings as deep as 6,212
metres (20,381 ft) below the surface, making it the only squid known to inhabit the hadal zone.[5][6]
Sightings[edit]

The bigfin squid (possibly M. pacifica) observed north of Hawai'i in

2001, showing the extremely large fins of this specimen [3][13]

The presumed adult stage of Magnapinna is known only from video observations from submersibles
and ROVs; no physical specimens have yet been collected, leaving their exact identity unknown.
These individuals and the collected juvenile specimens share the very large fins and
the vermiform arm tips with no suckers, but the iconic elongated arm tips are known only from
observed individuals. Although it has not been directly confirmed whether these squid are the same
as the Magnapinna known from specimens, it is largely accepted that they are members of
Magnapinnidae.[3][14]
Although observations had been made over a decade earlier, adult bigfin squid only became known
to science in 2001, when marine biology student Heather Holston sent footage of what she
described as an "21-foot-long squid" to teuthologist Michael Vecchione. The footage had been
recorded from an ROV in the Gulf of Mexico in January 2000 at the request of Holston's boyfriend
Eric Leveton, who planned on showing it to her. Leveton was a structural engineer aboard the oil-
drilling ship Millennium Explorer, who had happened to look into the ROV operation shack when the
squid was observed by operators. Although Vecchione initially surmised from Holston's description
that the footage might be the first video of a live giant squid (Architeuthis dux), he realized that the
video itself portrayed a completely different squid that had no known identity.[15][16][17][18]
My reaction was to jump out of my chair and start yelling profanities, because I knew it was
something really different.
— Michael Vecchione, on the first sighting of an adult bigfin squid[16]
Further discussions with other cephalopod researchers found no leads on the identity of the squid,
and it was thus dubbed the "mystery squid" for a portion of time. Analysis by Vecchione et al of
previous footage from submersibles found other video records of bigfin squid, the earliest from 1988.
Around the same time, new high-quality footage of a bigfin squid was also recorded off Hawaii by
the ROV Tiburon. In December 2001, Vecchione et al published a paper collating these
observations; this was also the first paper to identify them as potential members of the
Magnapinnidae, which had been named by Vecchione from the juvenile specimens a few years
earlier.[13][16][19] Independent of Vecchione's publication, Guerra et al published a paper the following
year analyzing some of the early bigfin squid footage, and also identified them as potential adult
magnapinnids.[20]
Anatomy[edit]
The specimens in the videos looked very distinct from all previously known squids. Uniquely
among cephalopods, the arms and tentacles were of the same length and looked identical (similar to
extinct belemnites). The appendages were also held perpendicular to the body, creating the
appearance of strange "elbows". Most remarkable was the length of the elastic tentacles, which has
been estimated at up to 15–20 times the mantle length. This trait is caused by filament coiling of the
tentacles, a trait that is rare among similar species.[21] Estimates based on video evidence put the
total length of the largest specimens at 8 m (25 ft) or more, with some estimates up to 12 m (40 ft).
[22]
Viewing close-ups of the body and head, it is apparent that the fins are extremely large, being
proportionately nearly as big as those of bigfin squid larvae. While they do appear similar to the
larvae, no specimens or samples of the adults have been taken. While their exact identity is
unknown, all of the discovered specimens can be observed to have a brown-orange color body,
translucent fins, near-white tentacles, and dark eyes.[4] These species of squids are mainly
identifiable by their long thin arms and specific colors. The squid also have a very unique brachial
crown that sets them aside from the rest of other families that are known.[23]
Feeding behaviour[edit]
Little is known about the feeding-behaviour of these squids. Scientists have speculated that the
bigfin squid feeds by dragging their arms and tentacles along the seafloor and grabbing edible
organisms from the floor.[24] Alternatively, they may simply use a trapping technique, waiting
passively for prey such as zooplankton[12] to bump into their arms[24] (see Cephalopod intelligence).
The diet of the bigfin squid is unknown. However, cephalopods are known to feed on crustaceans,
jellyfish, and even other cephalopods.[25]
Observation timeline[edit]
The first visual record of an adult bigfin squid was in September 1988. The crew of
the submersible Nautile encountered a bigfin squid off the coast of
northern Brazil, 10°42.91′N 40°53.43′W, at a depth of 4,735 metres (15,535 ft). In July 1992,
the Nautile again encountered these creatures, observing two individuals during a dive off the coast
of Ghana at 3°40′N 2°30′W, first at 3,010 metres (9,880 ft) depth, and then again at 2,950 metres
(9,680 ft). Both were filmed and photographed.[20] In November 1998, the Japanese crewed
submersible Shinkai 6500 filmed another bigfin squid in the Indian Ocean south of Mauritius,
at 32°45′S 57°13′E and 2,340 metres (7,680 ft).[26]
Eric Leveton's video, which was later shared with Vecchione, was taken from the remotely operated
underwater vehicle (ROV) of the oil-drilling ship Millennium Explorer in January 2000, at Mississippi
Canyon in the Gulf of Mexico (28°37′N 88°00′W) at 2,195 metres (7,201 ft), and allowed for a size
estimate. By comparison with the visible parts of the ROV, the squid was estimated to measure 7
metres (23 ft) with arms fully extended.[20] The Nautile filmed another Indian Ocean specimen
at 19°32′S 65°52′E and 2,576 metres (8,451 ft), in the area of Rodrigues Island, in May 2000.[20] In
October 2000, the crewed submersible Alvin found another bigfin squid at 1,940 metres (6,360 ft)
in Atwater Valley [d], Gulf of Mexico (27°34.714′N 88°30.59′W).
These videos did not receive any media attention; most were brief and fairly blurry. In May 2001,
approximately ten minutes of crisp footage of a bigfin squid were acquired by ROV Tiburon, causing
a flurry of attention when released.[27] These were taken in the Pacific Ocean north
of Oʻahu, Hawaii (21°54′N 158°12′W), at 3,380 metres (11,090 ft). This video and the pre-2001
videos (which had not previously received much scientific attention) were documented by
Vecchione et al in a paper that year, and some of the earlier footage was further analyzed by
Guerra et al (2002).[13][20]
On 11 November 2007, a bigfin squid was filmed off Perdido, a drilling-site owned by Shell Oil
Company, located 200 statute miles or 320 km off Houston, Texas in the Gulf of Mexico. The ROV
that filmed the squid had originally been sent to retrieve drilling equipment from the seabed, and
encountered the squid floating near a well. After being circulated within the oil industry, the footage
was shared with National Geographic News to have its identity determined, and was released to the
public in 2008. This video received significant online attention in the years since its filming.[24][28][29]

A bigfin squid filmed by Okeanos Explorer in 2021

Observations of bigfin squid were made in the Great Australian Bight during towed camera and
remote operated vehicle surveys in 2015 and 2017 respectively.[4] In 2018, the first observations of a
bigfin squid were made from the Southern Caribbean, off the coast of Colombia.[30]
In March 2021, during the expedition to document the wreck of the USS Johnston, the
submersible DSV Limiting Factor recorded footage of a juvenile bigfin squid from the Philippine
Trench at a depth of 6,212 metres (20,381 ft). This is the deepest observation of any squid, and
rivalled only by some unidentified cirrate octopods from the same habitat as the deepest observation
of any cephalopod. This makes Magnapinna the first squid known to inhabit the hadal zone.[5][6]
On 9 November 2021, a video of a bigfin squid was captured at a ridge feature off the West Florida
Escarpment by an ROV from the NOAAS Okeanos Explorer as part of the Windows to the Deep
2021 expedition.[31][32] The squid was found at a depth of 2,385 m (7,825 ft), and its size is currently
being measured using paired lasers.[33]
ROV SuBastian of Schmidt Ocean Institute observed a bigfin squid in close proximity to a black
smoker-type hydrothermal vent on 4 April 2023, during the "In Search of Hydrothermal Lost Cities"
expedition. The squid was seen at a depth of 1,931 m (6,335 ft).[34][35][36]

Vocab:
+distinctive:Đặt biệt,khác biệt,riêng biệt.
+Genus:Chúng loài,Giống
+juvenile:vị thanh niên
+specimens:Mẫu vật
+Numberous:Nhiều
+tentacles:Xúc Tua
+appendages:Phần phụ
+perpendicular:Vuông góc
+Hadal zone:Vùng biển sâu tăm tối
+Fins:Vây
+presumed:Được cho là
+submersibles:Tàu lặn