“What the hell is this?” A team of scientists has managed to film, in Australia, the first footage of a live Spirula squid, a strange little cephalopod with bulging eyes also known as a ram’s horn.
The observance of the mollusk, which swam vertically at a depth of about 2,800 feet in the Australian Great Barrier Reef, was announced on Tuesday by the Schmidt Ocean Institute, which specializes in marine research and the development of ocean science and technology.
Any cephalopod experts out there know who this squid friend is? Seen at 861m depth. #EdgeGBR @OzOceans2020 pic.twitter.com/h4S8zco0JS
The squid is characterized by its extremely light shell with an internal chamber that keeps it afloat and is surprisingly durable. According to experts, this is the first observation of a Spirula in its natural environment.
Via Wikipedia: "The shell of Spirula is extremely light, very buoyant, surprisingly durable; it commonly floats ashore onto tropical beaches ( sometimes even temperate beaches) all over the world. It is known to shell collectors as ram's horn shell." https://t.co/ftub8KlZ3p
2/3 pic.twitter.com/SUOCltB7Ck— Schmidt Ocean (@SchmidtOcean) October 27, 2020
The footage was obtained by a remote operated vehicle (ROV). The audiovisual of the squid surprised experts, who at first did not understand what they were seeing.
The tiny cephalopod, just about 3 inches longs, has eight arms, two tentacles and a pair of bulging eyes. At the end of its tail, hidden under its mantle, is a tightly rolled inner shell.
This wiki diagram shows the placement of the spiraling shell internally – it has chambers that researcher believes may allow for buoyancy control, similar to a nautilus. What a wonderful vision on this last ROV dive of the #EdgeGBR expedition! 3/3 pic.twitter.com/BM0dJe6ZDd
— Schmidt Ocean (@SchmidtOcean) October 27, 2020
A diagram of the squid shows the spiral shape of the shell, whose internal chambers are what allow the animal to control buoyancy. In this sense, it is similar to the nautilus mollusk, although in this case the shell is external.
Experts were struck by the squid’s position, with its head and tentacles floating upright, and its fins pointing downward. “The shell with its buoyancy is at the other end of the squid. So you would think that the head, which is heavier, would be hanging, ” researcher Neige Pascal explained to ScienceAlert.
Exciting news! This appears to be the FIRST observation of Spirula, aka ram's horn squid, alive + in its natural environment. Very rarely seen or captured, they have many extinct relatives, but are only living member of genus Spirula, family Spirulidae, and order Spirulida. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/re4rZyRuER
— Schmidt Ocean (@SchmidtOcean) October 27, 2020
