This Rare Deep-Sea Squid May Trick Predators and Prey by Sticking Its Head in Mud

Hiding deep in the Pacific Ocean, a rarely seen cephalopod may be one of nature’s most cunning masters of disguise. In March 2023, an underwater rover caught a glimpse of the squid while trudging along the Pacific seafloor at a depth of around 13,500 feet (4,100 meters). Just moments before, however, it was in the middle of quite the bizarre disappearing act.

In a new study published in Ecology, researchers recall how the undescribed species of whiplash squid seemed to come out of nowhere at first. But when they looked back at the video footage taken by the rover, they saw the squid buried under mud, its tentacles rising from the seafloor. While it’s hard to say what the squid was doing with its head in the ground, this behavior may have been an attempt to hide from predators, or a ruse to trap unsuspecting prey

A Discovery in the Ocean Abyss

The footage of the squid was taken at an abyssal plain, a region at depths of 10,000 to 20,000 feet that happens to be one of the least explored regions on Earth. Abyssal cephalopods, and other neighboring creatures for that matter, aren’t easy to come by. Low species abundance and avoidance behaviors have made it difficult for scientists to glean the full extent of the region’s biodiversity.

The researchers involved with the new study were conducting visual surveys in the eastern Clarion-Clipperton-Zone (CCZ), an area of the Pacific abyssal plains that has been targeted for deep-sea mining.

A remotely operated rover equipped with multiple cameras was moving along the seafloor when it spotted the squid passing by. The mantle (or main body) of the squid was nearly 4 inches long, and its bright white tentacles were around 8 inches long.

Based on its size, along with its wide elliptical fins and relatively short arms, the researchers determined that it likely belongs to the Mastigoteuthidae family (also known as whiplash squids). Only one other squid of the same potential species had been seen in the CCZ before.

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Hiding in Plain Sight

The rover’s footage showed that the squid was initially buried under mud, positioned upside down so that both of its tentacles extended upward. But what exactly was it doing in this situation?

Whiplash squids have been observed in a “tuning fork” posture in which they hover over the seafloor with their head down and their tentacles held apart to catch slow-moving prey, almost like fly paper. But the behavior detailed in the study is something entirely different.

Some cephalopods have been seen burying themselves, like octopuses that use their arms as shovels to dig and cuttlefish that pump water to scatter the seafloor substrate and cover themselves with the falling particles.

In the case of the whiplash squid, the researchers have two theories that both entail a masquerading behavior. One is that it may have disguising itself as a stalk-like organism, like glass sponges or tube worms, to hide from beaked whales or other cephalopod predators.

Or, it may have been putting on an act to catch seafloor prey like crustaceans. These smaller creatures tend to visit sponge stalks and coral colonies, which are biodiversity hotspots in the ocean abyss.

Elusive Squids

Whether it was hiding from predators or waiting to snare some prey, this whiplash squid displayed a behavior that may help explain why squids are so hard to find on the abyssal plains.

The researchers say that cephalopods play an important role in benthopelagic tropic food webs, serving as both predators that eat smaller prey and dietary components for larger apex predators.

“Thus, further investigations that specifically target cephalopods, for example, employing camera platforms, are urgently required to protect the whole functional complexity and biodiversity of the abyssal Pacific seabed,” the researchers concluded.

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