A rare squid, living in depths of 3280 feet, has revealed a unique hunting method of emitting bright light from its elongated tentacles. According to CNN on the 20th, a research team from the University of Western Australia and the University of Kelp Earth Science in the UK captured this scene with a camera placed at a depth of 0.62 miles in the Pacific near Samoa. Taningia danae is a giant squid species with the distinguishing features of a luminescent organ at the end of its two long tentacles, emitting light like a headlight.
The squid in this video mistakes one of the cameras placed by the exploration team, emits light from its luminescent organ as if luring its prey, and quickly approaches at 190 feet per minute. Soon after, the squid wraps its legs around the camera in an attempt to eat it, but the video ends as it seems to realize it isn’t food and flees. Heather Stewart, the senior scientist of the exploration team, said, “The squid, which was about 75cm long, descended on our camera assuming it was prey and tried to startle it with its huge bioluminescent headlights.” “Many records of this species are from strandings, accidental bycatch, or from the stomach contents of whales,” Jamieson explained.
“The rarity of live observations of these amazing animals makes every encounter valuable in gathering information on geographic locations, depth, and behavior. it is such a unique animal that we hardly ever get to see, so we had to share it,” he concluded.
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