5.4K views · 276 reactions | Roughly a dozen sightings of bigfin squid (Magnapinna sp.) have been confirmed worldwide. So, when we imaged an adult bigfin squid an #Okeanos Windows to the Deep 2021 off the West Florida Escarpment in the Gulf of Mexico, it was quite an exciting moment! Learn more: https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex2107/features/bigfin-squid/bigfin-squid.html | NOAA Ocean Exploration | Facebook

This is the first sighting of the rare bigfin squid (Magnapinna) in the Tonga Trench in the Southern Pacific Ocean. Filmed at a depth of 3,300 meters using a deep-sea lander in September 2024, the squid’s iconic tentacles take up the entire view of the camera. There have only been around a dozen sightings of bigfin squid on record, so to have new footage of this creature to study is incredibly important. Because there have been so few sightings, very little is known about these alien-like squids

Bigfin squid (Magnapinna sp.) can live deeper than any other known squid. While sightings of them have been recorded globally, the total number of sightings is likely less than two dozen (two of those sightings were on #Okeanos expeditions — lucky us!!). #OceanMonthNOAA #OceanMonth2022 https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/news/exploration-extras/22-national-ocean-month/welcome.html#june13 | NOAA Ocean Exploration