News and views from the world of marine heritage and conservation
Not quite colossal
‘ Living fossil’ filmed
Whale shark romance
ENVIRONMENT
Protect Our Seas
News and views from the world of marine heritage and conservation
PHOTO: SCHMIDT OCEAN INSTITUTE
Not quite colossal
A colossal squid – one of the ocean’ s last remaining enigmas – has been filmed in its natural environment for the first time since the species was discovered 100 years ago. The 30cm-long juvenile was caught on camera at a depth of 600m near the South Sandwich Islands in the south Atlantic Ocean. A team of scientists, led by a University of Essex academic, recorded the footage in March during a 35-day quest to find new marine life.
Experts believe colossal squid can grow up to 7m( 23ft) in length and weigh up to 500kg, making them the heaviest
invertebrate on the planet, heavier even than the giant squid. Crew onboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute’ s Falkor vessel used a remote-controlled vehicle to spot it. Chief scientist Dr Michelle Taylor, from the university, said the team was initially unsure what the squid was but filmed it because it was“ beautiful and unusual”.
‘ Living fossil’ filmed
A research group has reported the first observations of an adult coelacanth fish in the north Maluku province of Indonesia. The team’ s report included the first in-situ images taken by divers of an Indonesian coelacanth [ they were previously photographed off South Africa ]. The breakthrough came after successfully identifying suitable ecosystems during previous deep technical dives. Once believed to be long-extinct, coelacanths are one of the most evolutionarilyimportant of the marine vertebrates. To date, only two species are known globally: the West Indian Ocean Coelacanth, Latimeria chalumnae, found in the Mozambique Channel, from Southern Africa to Comoro Islands, and the Sulawesi Coelacanth, L. menadoensis, found off Sulawesi and Western New Guinea in Indonesia.
PHOTO: BLANCPAIN OCEAN COMMITMENT
Whale shark romance
Scientists believe whale sharks may be mating near St Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean. It’ s the only place in the world where adult male and female whale sharks are known to regularly gather in roughly equal numbers— and food doesn’ t seem to be the main attraction. Kenickie Andrews, marine conservation project manager
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