An unmanned underwater vehicle captured a rare squid of a strange shape

Scientists have obtained rare footage featuring a ghost squid, the owner of huge rainbow fins and bizarre elbow bends of tentacles.

So far, no more than twenty similar episodes of observation of the Magnapinna mollusk have been recorded. Scientists from NOAA noticed the creation of a "Window into the Depths" within the framework of the project.

Filming the underwater landscape of the Gulf of Mexico, the team noticed several thin bluish appendages that flashed past the drone. You can see how the camera follows the movement of the creature in order to capture it in all its glory. Large protruding fins gently oscillate in the water column, like the fins of stingrays. The transparent mantle holds the internal organs.

Scientists Mike Vecchione and Richard E. Yang made a description of the Magnapinnidae family back in 1998. Since then, it has been possible to describe 3 species of large-finned squid, but in reality there may be much more of them.

When the current squid appeared at the stern of the drone, Vecchione quickly called its operators and shared his knowledge about this creature. The scientist claims that the squid passed by the device at a depth of about 2.4 km. Previously, these creatures were noticed at 4.7 km below the surface of the ocean.