Alien invader? No, the 26ft-long Mangapinna SQUID discovered lurking underneath an offshore oil rig



Footage of the 26ft long squid was filmed in the Gulf of Mexico

Mangapinnas are known as bigfin squids because of their long tentacles

These tentacles can stretch up to 20 times longer than the squid’s body

It is thought the long appendages are used to trap food on the seafloor



Lurking deep beneath the Gulf of Mexico is a species of squid that wouldn’t look out of place in a sci-fi thriller.

The Mangapinna squid, sometimes referred to as the bigfin or long-arm squid, is around 26ft in length with thin elastic tentacles thought to be between 15 to 20 times larger than the squid’s body.

Adult bigfins have never been captured or sampled but rare video footage recorded by the Shell Oil company reveals their alien-like behaviour.



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The giant squid, pictured, was caught on camera in the Gulf of Mexico. It has elastic tentacles thought to be 15 to 20 times longer than the squid's body and the total length is around 26ft. Its ten appendages are often held at right angles to the body, or mantle, which gives them the appearance of having elbows

WHAT IS THE MANGPINNA SQUID?

Mangapinna squids were first discovered in 1907 but it wasn’t until 1988 that the first footage was filmed off the coast of Brazil.

A squid spotted in 2000 was thought to have been around 23ft long and more recent sightings have estimated lengths of 26ft.

The arms and the tentacles of the Mangapinna squid are the same length and look identical. These ten appendages are also often held at right angles to the body, or mantle, which gives them the appearance of having elbows.

Very little is known about the feeding behaviour of these squid.

Scientists believe that bigfin squid feed by dragging their arms and tentacles along the seafloor, and grabbing organisms off the floor. They may however simply use a trapping technique, waiting passively for prey to bump into their arms



The footage was captured using a remotely operated underwater vehicle known as an ROV.

Shell Oil, along with other companies, uses the vehicles to study the water around its oil rigs and this particular recording was filmed in the Gulf of Mexico in the Perdido Area of Alaminos Canyon.



The rare sighting of the squid was discovered at a depth of more than 7,800 ft back in November 2007.

Shell oil has a rig located 200 miles off the coast of Houston, Texas.

Mangapinna squids were first discovered in 1907 but it wasn’t until 1988 that the first footage of the bizarre creatures were caught on camera by a submersible off the coast of Brazil.



Ten years later a Japanese submersible called Shinkai 6500 filmed another long-armed squid in the Indian Ocean south of Mauritius.

The majority of other sightings have been in various canyons in the Gulf of Mexico.

A squid spotted in 2000 was thought to have been around 23ft long.

However, more recent sightings have estimated lengths in excess of 26ft.



Aside from their overall lengths, the arms and the tentacles of the Mangapinna squid are the same length and look identical.



Squids traditionally have two shorter arms and eight longer tentacles.

These ten appendages of the Mangapinna are also often held at right angles to the body, or mantle, which gives them the appearance of having elbows.

Shell oil uses remote-controlled vehicles to study the water around its oil rigs and this particular recording, pictured, was filmed in the Gulf of Mexico in the Perdido Area of Alaminos Canyon. The rare sighting of the squid was discovered at a depth of more than 7,800ft in November 2007

The arms and tentacles are said to stretch up to 20 times longer than the mantle while the fins are larger than other species and in some sightings were around 90 per cent as big.

It is thought the squids use their long arms to grab or trap food along the floor of the ocean, although this has never been seen in action.



The footage was captured using a remotely operated underwater vehicle known as an ROV. Shell Oil, along with other companies, uses the vehicles to study the water around its oil rigs and this particular recording was filmed in the Gulf of Mexico in the Perdido Area of Alaminos Canyon, pictured

Aside from their overall lengths, the arms and the tentacles of the Mangapinna squid, pictured, are the same length and look identical - squids traditionally have two shorter arms and eight longer tentacles

Adult specimens of the Mangapinna squid, pictured, have never been captured or scientifically sampled but it is thought their long appendages are used to trap food on the ocean floor





