Giant squid detected off Australia after 25 years using DNA technology

Scientists have detected evidence of a giant squid off the coast of Western Australia for the first time in more than 25 years.

The scientists used samples of seawater to detect evidence of monster creatures.

This mysterious deep-sea creature, whose length may exceed that of a school bus and whose eyes are as big as plates, was recognised using environmental DNA, eDNA, found in two submarine canyons deep in the sea close to Ninggulu (Ningaloo), around 1,200 kilometres north of Perth.

Researchers didn’t see or capture the creature in real time. Instead, they analysed tiny genetic particles that the animal shed through skin, mucus, and faeces.

Six separate water samples contained the evidence, all drawn from the Cape Range and Cloates canyons at a depth of 4,500 meters.

The head of aquatic zoology, Dr Lisa Kirkendale, stated: “This is the first record of a giant squid detected off Western Australia’s coast using eDNA protocols and the northernmost record of Architeuthis dux in the eastern Indian Ocean.”

The research conducted by the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel, Falkor, collected over 1,000 water samples. Besides the giant squid, 226 species across 11 major animal groups were found. This includes pygmy sperm whales, Cuvier’s beaked whales, sleeper sharks, and faceless cusk eels.