This is an interesting discovery
Deep-sea scientists were left amazed after filming something humungous swimming over the seafloor in Chile.
The Schmidt Ocean Institute’s underwater robot captured the extraordinary video while exploring the seafloor off the coast of Chile.
The creature turned out to be a mother squid carrying her eggs through the ocean, putting herself at risk to protect her offspring.
Most squid lay their eggs on the seafloor and don’t provide any parental care but the black-eyed squid (Gonatus onyx) also known as the clawed arm hook squid is one of the few species that brood their eggs.
The Schmidt Ocean Institute said on LinkedIn: “A female Gonatus onyx will carry her large egg mass for months, keeping it suspended from hooks on the squid’s arms.
“It is a dangerous time… brooding squid cannot move very quickly, and may be easy prey for deep-diving marine mammals.
“After laying the eggs she will go without feeding, and by the time they hatch, she will be close to death.”
In the cluster there are up to 3,000 eggs and the incubation time could be anything from six to nine months.
The expectant mother will keep pumping water over her eggs for the entire time to maintain their oxygen supply.
This movement also helps the more mature hatchlings break free from their eggs when they’re ready to swim off independently.
The creature is most most commonly found in the northern Pacific Ocean from Japan to California.
