The Dana squid has all the tools of a top ocean predator, including a pair of brilliant “headlights” it flashes at the moment it goes in for the kill.
They are intended to dazzle the prey, to make the victim freeze for those few moments longer until it can be captured in a death embrace.
Scientists have just filmed this rare squid in full attack mode, on a research cruise in the central Pacific.
It was about 1,000m below the surface, where conditions are near pitch black.
Related on the SLP
Those headlights, on the ends of two of its arms, are more properly called photophores – organs that react a mix of substances with oxygen to emit light. It is a classic example of bioluminescence.
The video was filmed by free-fall cameras attached to a baited frame, a simple but effective device scientists drop overboard to investigate what is living at great depth.
