Taningia

[GPO87]

A genus that hardly needs introduction, Taningia are deep ocean squid who (like others in this family) have lost their tentacles in adulthood. Commonly known as the Dana Octopus Squid. They have lidded photophores at the end of arm 2. They can grow quite large (approx. 1.7 m mantle length).


T. danae

Info at:
Taningia danae

 

[DWhatley]

A great video Clem found showing T. danae trying to copulate with some hardware on an oil rig

 

[DWhatley]

The cephalopod Taningia danae Joubin, 1931 observed near bottom at over 2,000 m depth on Seine seamount 2014 José Nuno Gomes-Pereira, Inês Tojeira

Abstract
We report the first in situ observations of a large Taningia danae Joubin, 1931, close to the seafloor at bathyal depths of 2,157 m. The observation was made in the subtropical northeast Atlantic Seine seamount during daytime on 29 September 2012, over a silt-covered seafloor (33º40.1142′N, 14º22.7301′W). Seawater temperature was 4.2 ºC, salinity 35.40 ppt, oxygen saturation 50.87 Ox%, and pressure 2,178.29 dbar. Mantle length was estimated from imagery to be 65.3 cm (STD = 6.3). A repeated behaviour was observed every time the ROV approached: (1) swimming away from the ROV by flapping the fins twice (moving forward or backward), (2) gliding slightly inclined downward, until colliding against the seafloor, and (3) ascending obliquely or vertically in relation to the seafloor, finally evading the area moving upward using jet propulsion. These observations greatly extend the species depth range and document behaviour patterns. T. danae is able to explore beyond the mesopelagic zone where it has previously been reported.

 

[DWhatley]

First record of an adult Taningia danae (Cephalopoda: Octopoteuthidae) in the Canary Islands (central-east Atlantic) ALEJANDRO ESCÁNEZ & CATALINA PERALES-RAYA 2017 (pdf)

Excellent physical taningia description followed by a discussion and photos of taningia found in the Canary Islands

 

[jeffday]

nautilus saw a couple of these from argus while descending during their last expedition:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1462618248915173376

https://twitter.com/x/status/1464851705313570817

 

[jeffday]

JAMSTEC's archive has a bunch of these (some of these are different angles of the same encounter)

Teuthoidea | JAMSTEC E-library of Deep-sea Images

Teuthoidea | JAMSTEC E-library of Deep-sea Images

Decapodiformes (Swimming) | JAMSTEC E-library of Deep-sea Images

Teuthoidea | JAMSTEC E-library of Deep-sea Images

Teuthoidea | JAMSTEC E-library of Deep-sea Images

Teuthoidea | JAMSTEC E-library of Deep-sea Images

Teuthoidea | JAMSTEC E-library of Deep-sea Images

 

[jeffday]

here's one of NOAA's great interactions with one, this clip is from 2015 (and the squid is misidentified as an idioteuthis)

 

[jeffday]

also ROV Lu'ukai briefly saw one in september of 2021. took me forever to scrub through the stream to find it, so let's see if i can attach the clip here:

 

[jeffday]

a NIWA expedition came across one near the hikurangi trench in May of 2021; the recording hasn't been made public anywhere, i've only seen this clip of their monitors during the dive

https://twitter.com/x/status/1389076432798642178

 

[jeffday]

oh wait no one's posted this here???? i've gotta post the absolutely wildest video of taningia i've ever seen - one being pursued by a female elephant seal, recorded by a camera mounted to the seal's head. it's absolutely unbelievable

Movie 2 (Squid capture.mp4):

movie.biologists.com

the paper itself is a really fascinating read, too:

Acceleration-triggered animal-borne videos show a dominance of fish in the diet of female northern elephant seals

Highlighted Article: Seal-borne acceleration-triggered video cameras showed that, in the mesopelagic zones across the eastern North Pacific, female northern elephant seals feed mainly on fish rather than squid.

journals.biologists.com

 

[tonmo]

OMG wow, I hadn't seen that! Legit afraid for the elephant seal ... like the original Willy Wonka boat ride... menacing and frightening!

 

[jeffday]

ocean census got buzzed by one during their recent cruise to survey the bounty trough:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1763295187336659013

 

[jeffday]

oceanx with a fresh observation from the seychelles

https://twitter.com/x/status/1774670068485427361

 

[jeffday]

ocean census got buzzed by one during their recent cruise to survey the bounty trough:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1763295187336659013

footage this framegrab is from has now been uploaded as part of the most recent ocean census highlight video from the bounty trough expedition. offset is 53 seconds

100 new ocean species discovered in New Zealand - Ocean Census

Team of scientists make new discoveries on Ocean Census-Bounty Trough expedition from as deep as 4,800 metres.

oceancensus.org