Described by our resident cephalopod expert as “probably the most bizarre squid I’ve ever seen,” we encountered this unusual squid while exploring an unnamed mound at a depth of approximately 850 meters (2,790 feet) during the Gulf of Mexico 2018 expedition.
Its arms were folded back to such an extreme degree, it had lost its squid-like appearance. This left many researchers watching the livestream stumped. It was in a strange posture and was damaged; its long tentacles were missing and the ventral arms were mostly gone. The best guess at the time was that it was Discoteuthis discus in the family Cycloteuthidae. However, that species had never previously been observed alive, and therefore it is unknown if this behavior in a contorted posture is common in this species.
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Video courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, Gulf of Mexico 2018.