Mysterious deep sea squid found in Australian waters for first time

A mysterious giant squid, known for lurking in the deepest, darkest corners of the ocean, has been spotted in Australian waters for the first time.

Researchers from CSIRO were conducting underwater surveys in the Great Australian Bight, on Australia's south coast, when they found out bigfin squid were nearby.

Bigfin squid, or Magnapinna, have large fins that make their body appear as wide as it is long.

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Their tentacles are also much longer than other squid species and they can bend them as a human would an elbow.

Their tentacle filaments are retractable and have suckers on them, which are likely used for feeding.

Deborah Osterhage was on the CSIRO team that made the discovery at a depth of more than 2200 metres while they were surveying with cameras underneath a ship.

"I knew exactly what it was when I saw it, probably because I'm a bit of a deep-sea geek," Ms Osterhage told New Scientist.

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She said the squid were spotted multiple times during subsequent surveys and the team were able to see differences in body ratio and length to confirm they were actually five different squid.

Ms Osterhage said they are rarely seen around the world, with only three sightings previously recorded in the southern hemisphere.

Researchers measured one of the squid using lasers and determined it was 1.8 metres long, with its tentacles accounting for 1.68 metres of that length.

Ms Osterhage said the squid the team saw were at least 300 metres apart and more interactions with them are needed to learn about the creature.