MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Gibraltar biologists identify “monster” squid

Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society's marine section has tentatively identified the curious animal that was found by Kenneth Bagu and Victor Chipol on the seabed off the South Mole last week, based on the photograph in the Gibraltar Chronicle.

It has been described as a cephalopod belonging to the family Histioteuthidae. This family can be identified by the presence of large photophores on the head, hood and legs. Another interesting characteristic is that the left eye is considerably larger than the right.

There are six species of this family recorded for the Iberian Peninsula, of which Histioteuthis bonnellii (Férussac, 1835) best fits the proportions and characteristics of the found specimen.

An inspection of the remains of the animal would have definitively confirmed its identity but some of the tentacle fingers and soft parts that have been eaten by scavengers.

An oceanic species of temperate waters it is found at depths between 500m and 1500 metres. In the Iberian Peninsula they have been caught with relative frequency off the Catalan coast with one male measuring 1290mm in length, the largest captured so far.

Many species of cephalopods have only been discovered for the first time in the stomach contents of Sperm Whales, Tunny and Swordfish, and their accidental discovery close inshore, like this one, is a mystery.

The recent invasion of jellyfish around Gibraltar shores is an indication of undersea currents bringing marine life from far and deep close at hand.