At a depth of nearly three and a half kilometers, there is no sunlight. Here reign cold, immense pressure, and silence broken by the movement of water and the voices of unseen inhabitants.
It seems that life in such a world must be harsh and stark. But from the darkness emerges a creature whose movements resemble not a struggle, but a slow dance.
Two fins sway like wings. Long, thin arms follow the body freely. For a few moments, the abyss reveals one of its secrets—and then takes it back into the darkness.
Encounter at a depth of 3277 meters
September 2, 2026 The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute—MBARI—together with specialists from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), reported a rare encounter with a long-armed squid of the genus Magnapinna.
The observation occurred during a ten-day expedition Seamount Hotspots aboard the research vessel David Packard. Scientists from MBARI and NOAA specialists studied deep-sea ecosystems near Davidson Seamount—one of the largest underwater volcanic mountains in the world—off the coast of Central California. The mountain rises more than four kilometers from the seafloor, but its summit remains at a depth of several hundred meters.
The remotely operated vehicle Doc Ricketts surveyed the seafloor at a depth of 3277 meters, when long tentacles entered the camera's field of view. MBARI does not specify the exact calendar date of the encounter itself during the expedition—it is only known that it occurred during the ten-day expedition completed by 2 September 2026.
MBARI postdoctoral researcher and deep-sea ecologist Olivia Soares Pereira first noticed thin tentacles in the corner of the screen and thought it was an unusual jellyfish. But when the characteristic bends of the arms—peculiar "elbows"—appeared, she immediately recognized Magnapinna and shouted its name before the squid fully entered the frame.
The squid seemed to slowly swim into the light of the vehicle from absolute darkness.
A creature with angelic wings
In the frame, two large fins, eight arms, and two thin tentacles were visible, characteristic of all Magnapinna species. The fins of these squids make up to 90% of the length of their mantle and serve as the primary means of locomotion. The squids use their long arms to catch prey from the seafloor.
Using the vehicle's laser measuring system, researchers determined the approximate length of the animal— 1,25 meters from the top of the body to the tips of the arms. Given that the mantle (body) of Magnapinna is typically only 6–10 centimeters, the rest of the length is accounted for by the tentacles and their filamentous extensions, which can stretch for several meters.
NOAA researcher Andrew DeVogelaere, an ecologist at the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and a longtime MBARI collaborator, recalled: "I was focused on the seafloor, and suddenly an elegant creature with undulating, angel-wing-like fins appeared before me."
The comparison proved remarkably accurate. The squid did not lunge at the camera or attempt to flee rapidly. It hovered above the seafloor, barely disturbing the space around it.
At such depths, every movement requires energy conservation. Therefore, its slow dance is not only beauty but also a way of existing in a world where food is scarce and conditions are extremely harsh. At depths where the fluid is nearly four hundred times denser than air at the surface, energy efficiency is a matter of survival.
First confirmed encounter in this region
This observation became the first confirmed video recording of a living Magnapinna in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and the first encounter with it within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
For MBARI, this is only the second observation of such a squid: the previous one occurred during an expedition with the vehicle Tiburon near Hawaii in 2001, when 10 minutes of video of an individual at a depth of about 3380 meters were recorded.
According to scientific literature, scientists have observed via underwater vehicles or obtained in scientific trawls approximately 70 representatives of the genus Magnapinna. The first specimen was found in 1883 near the Azores Islands and looked like the species Magnapinna talismani, but it was caught in poor condition. The scientific description of the genus as a separate taxonomic unit appeared only in 1998, when biologists Michael Vecchione and Richard Young officially established the family Magnapinnidae — 115 years after the first discovery.
Scientists have still not been able to obtain a fully grown adult squid for direct study. Only damaged juveniles have been brought up from the depths, or occasional specimens have turned up in the stomachs of other marine animals, so video recordings in the natural environment have become one of the main sources of knowledge about these animals.
Scientists cannot yet say with certainty how long they live, reproduce, and hunt. It is not even fully understood how exactly the squid uses its unusually long arms and tentacles — they may be a tool for catching prey from the bottom or for collecting organic particles falling from the layers above.
Each encounter brings a few answers — and many new questions.
Seamounts as islands of life
The squid was spotted near Davidson Seamount, located approximately 130 kilometers southwest of Monterey. This mountain is biologically diverse: its slopes are home to 237 species of animals and 27 types of deep-sea coral.
Seamounts rise above the deep seafloor and alter the movement of ocean currents. Nutrients and food concentrate around them, creating ecosystems rich in life on the slopes and above the summits. Davidson is already known for gardens of ancient deep-sea corals — some of them over a hundred years old — and a nursery of pearl octopuses that breed there.
During the current expedition, scientists initially tried to determine whether beaked whales could leave mysterious furrows on the soft bottom while foraging. Another goal was to study the metabolism of deep-sea corals and their resilience to climate change.
But the ocean offered them an encounter that was not on the program.
That is how discoveries often happen: a researcher looks in one direction, and life unexpectedly appears from the other side of the screen.
Vibrations of love from the deep
Love for the ocean begins not only with admiration of its beauty. It begins with recognizing the value of life we barely know.
The underwater vehicle illuminated the squid only for a moment. But the camera did not turn it into an exhibit — it allowed us to see a living creature in its own world, breathing and moving according to its own laws, which we are only beginning to understand.
The abyss was not lifeless. It moved, breathed, and spread its wings.
We search for other worlds among distant stars, although one of them begins just a few kilometers below the ocean surface. And perhaps our task is not to immediately uncover all its secrets, but to learn to approach them with care.
Perhaps true depth responds not to those who try to possess it. It reveals itself to those who know how to look with respect — and to hear life even in complete silence.
