Fascinating shots from the sea:
Researchers have captured an incredibly rare moment during a deep-sea dive.
They observed a deep-sea squid with hundreds of eggs in its arms.
Exploring the sea at Monterey Bay, researchers have encountered only the second time a female squid has eggs in her arms.
The mother squid was observed at a depth of nearly 1,400 meters more than 90 kilometers off the coast of California.
Most squids reproduce by depositing eggshells on the seafloor or by releasing eggs into a gel-like mass floating in the open sea.
Female squids lay 120,000 to 400,000 consecutive eggs.
This is where the squid babies hatch, which are not always safe in the sea.
Scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute assume that the observed mother squid carries her eggs until they hatch.
This increases their babies’ chances of survival.
“Exploring the deep sea is challenging and we are only getting a brief glimpse of deep sea animal behavior.” Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute studies the largest habitat on Earth and has now captured thousands of hours of underwater video.
The use of remote-controlled vehicles has allowed scientists to explore a whole new world in the darkness of the sea – visually capturing a female squid with eggs for the first time.
The new footage was captured during a dive with the ROV Doc Ricketts equipped with 4K cameras.