---
title: "What the sources say about the Bigfin Squid | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "38 claims from the Bigfin Squid profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Bigfin Squid (*Magnapinna sp.*)

> 38 claims from the Bigfin Squid profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Bigfin Squid](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/bigfin-squid/)

## Bigfin squid. MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute), Animals of the Deep.

https://www.mbari.org/animal/bigfin-squid/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Not Evaluated | Only about 70 Magnapinna have ever been seen with submersibles or collected from scientific trawls. (note: No IUCN assessment: the prefetch (2026-09-15) found no Red List assessment DOI for Magnapinna, and GBIF's copy of the Red List has no category for the name, checked 2026-09-15. The quote records how rarely the genus has been seen, which is why no assessment exists to cite.) |
| The deepest-dwelling squid on record | Magnapinna holds the record for the deepest-dwelling squid, with one seen at a depth of 6,212 meters (20,380 feet, or almost four miles) in the Philippine Trench in the Western Pacific. |
| with elbow-bent arms trailing sticky filaments that may stretch up to 20 times its body length | Their elongated teardrop body trails eight arms and two tentacles, each bearing a long, adhesive white filament covered in tiny suckers. ... The filaments extend from a 90-degree, elbow-like joint, and may be up to 20 times the length of the squid’s body. (note: "sticky" is the page's "adhesive"; the bend is the 90-degree, elbow-like joint the filaments extend from.) |
| Bathypelagic and hadal trench waters in tropical and temperate seas worldwide, roughly 1,600 to 6,200 meters deep and often near the seafloor; newly hatched young live near the surface | Depth 1,600–6,200 m (5,200–20,300 feet) ... Paralarvae occur in surface waters (epipelagic zone); adults occur in the midnight (bathypelagic) zone and deep-sea trenches (hadal zone), often found near the seafloor (benthopelagic) ... Range Worldwide Tropical and temperate waters (note: "newly hatched young" is the page's "paralarvae".) |
| Unknown; scientists suspect its sticky filaments may be used to fish for a meal | Diet Unknown ... Many deep-sea squids use their long tentacles to fish for a meal, so scientists suspect these filaments may serve the same purpose—though we still do not know what is on the menu for Magnapinna |
| Elbow-jointed arms trailing sticky filaments that may reach up to 20 times its body length | The filaments extend from a 90-degree, elbow-like joint, and may be up to 20 times the length of the squid’s body. |
| One bigfin squid has been seen 6,212 meters down in the Philippine Trench, almost four miles deep. | Magnapinna holds the record for the deepest-dwelling squid, with one seen at a depth of 6,212 meters (20,380 feet, or almost four miles) in the Philippine Trench in the Western Pacific. |
| The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) says that sighting gives the genus Magnapinna the record for the deepest-dwelling squid. | Magnapinna holds the record for the deepest-dwelling squid, with one seen at a depth of 6,212 meters (20,380 feet, or almost four miles) in the Philippine Trench in the Western Pacific. (note: MBARI's page is current: it reports its own 2026 sighting and lists a 09.02.26 news brief. It does not say who made the 6,212 m sighting, so the page no longer says MBARI's vehicles logged it.) |
| Adults live in the deep sea's "midnight" zone and in deep-sea trenches, roughly 1,600 to 6,200 meters down, often close to the seafloor, while newly hatched young live near the surface. | Depth 1,600–6,200 m (5,200–20,300 feet) ... Paralarvae occur in surface waters (epipelagic zone); adults occur in the midnight (bathypelagic) zone and deep-sea trenches (hadal zone), often found near the seafloor (benthopelagic) |
| Their maximum size is 6.4 meters (21 feet) in total length, filaments included. | Maximum Size 6.4 m (21 feet) total length (note: "filaments included": Osterhage et al. 2020 define total length as "DML + longest arm/tentacle length", and the filaments are the arm and tentacle tips. Osterhage et al. give northern-hemisphere in-situ total lengths of "2250 to 7000 m" (sic, from older sources); the current MBARI page's 6.4 m maximum is used.) |
| Its elongated, teardrop-shaped body trails eight arms and two tentacles, each bearing a long, sticky filament covered in tiny suckers. | Their elongated teardrop body trails eight arms and two tentacles, each bearing a long, adhesive white filament covered in tiny suckers. |
| The filaments extend from an elbow-like joint bent at 90 degrees, and they may be up to 20 times the length of the squid's body. | The filaments extend from a 90-degree, elbow-like joint, and may be up to 20 times the length of the squid’s body. |
| Bigfin squid are often seen near the seafloor with their arms and tentacles spread wide, sometimes appearing to "walk" with their filaments across the bottom. | Bigfin squid are often observed near the seafloor. They spread their arms and tentacles wide open, dangling their thread-like filaments far beyond their body, sometimes appearing to “walk” with them across the bottom. |
| When disturbed, the filaments recoil quickly. | When disturbed, those fine filaments recoil quickly. |
| Many deep-sea squid use long tentacles to fish for a meal, and scientists suspect these filaments may do the same, but what a bigfin squid eats is still unknown. | Many deep-sea squids use their long tentacles to fish for a meal, so scientists suspect these filaments may serve the same purpose—though we still do not know what is on the menu for Magnapinna |
| MBARI counts only about 70 Magnapinna ever seen from submersibles or collected in scientific trawls. | Only about 70 Magnapinna have ever been seen with submersibles or collected from scientific trawls. (note: Tied to MBARI, whose page is current (2026 sighting, 09.02.26 news brief).) |
| In four decades of deep-sea exploration, its own researchers have logged just two encounters, off Hawaiʻi in 2001 and off Central California in 2026. | In four decades of deep-sea exploration, MBARI researchers have logged just two encounters with the bigfin squid ( Magnapinna spp.). The first was observed by MBARI geologists while studying the volcanic geology offshore of O‘ahu, Hawaiʻi, in 2001. ... near Davidson Seamount, offshore of Central California, in 2026. |
| The first specimen was collected in 1883, but scientists did not describe the squid until 1998. | First collected in 1883, this unique squid was not described by scientists until 1998. |
| They have still never collected an adult, only damaged juveniles. | Scientists have still never collected an adult Magnapinna specimen, only damaged juveniles, making video footage even more valuable for understanding the natural history of this remarkable animal. |
| That makes video footage even more valuable for understanding how the squid lives. | Scientists have still never collected an adult Magnapinna specimen, only damaged juveniles, making video footage even more valuable for understanding the natural history of this remarkable animal. |
| Adult Magnapinna live in the deep sea's midnight, or bathypelagic, zone and down into deep-sea trenches, roughly 1,600 to 6,200 meters down. | Depth 1,600–6,200 m (5,200–20,300 feet) ... adults occur in the midnight (bathypelagic) zone and deep-sea trenches (hadal zone) |
| One seen at 6,212 meters in the Philippine Trench gives the genus the record for the deepest-dwelling squid. | Magnapinna holds the record for the deepest-dwelling squid, with one seen at a depth of 6,212 meters (20,380 feet, or almost four miles) in the Philippine Trench in the Western Pacific. |
| Its elongated body trails eight arms and two tentacles, each bearing a long, thread-like, sucker-covered filament. | Their elongated teardrop body trails eight arms and two tentacles, each bearing a long, adhesive white filament covered in tiny suckers. ... dangling their thread-like filaments far beyond their body |
| The filaments extend from a 90-degree, elbow-like joint, and may be up to 20 times the length of the squid's body. | The filaments extend from a 90-degree, elbow-like joint, and may be up to 20 times the length of the squid’s body. |
| Scientists suspect the sticky filaments may be used to fish for a meal, the way many other deep-sea squid use their long tentacles, but what a bigfin squid eats is still unknown. | Many deep-sea squids use their long tentacles to fish for a meal, so scientists suspect these filaments may serve the same purpose—though we still do not know what is on the menu for Magnapinna |
| No. According to MBARI, only about 70 Magnapinna have ever been seen from submersibles or collected in scientific trawls, and scientists have still never collected an adult, only damaged juveniles. | Only about 70 Magnapinna have ever been seen with submersibles or collected from scientific trawls. ... Scientists have still never collected an adult Magnapinna specimen, only damaged juveniles |
| That makes video footage especially valuable for understanding how the squid lives. | Scientists have still never collected an adult Magnapinna specimen, only damaged juveniles, making video footage even more valuable for understanding the natural history of this remarkable animal. |
| dangerLevel: Low | Depth 1,600–6,200 m (5,200–20,300 feet) (note: No source reports harm to people; adults live 1,600 to 6,200 m down, and the diet is unknown. Low is 'Effectively harmless to people'.) |

## Osterhage et al. (2020). Multiple observations of Bigfin Squid (Magnapinna sp.) in the Great Australian Bight reveal distribution patterns, morphological characteristics, and rarely seen behaviour. PLOS ONE.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0241066

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In one small squid filmed in the Great Australian Bight, the mantle measured just 62 millimeters, while its arm and tentacle filaments ran more than a meter. | This individual was smaller in size, with a DML of 62 mm and FW of 66 mm. The DML measurement was taken from video ... The arm/tentacle filaments were at least 1096 mm in length (note: Sighting 2 (16 November 2015, towed camera, S2 Video). DML is dorsal mantle length. The paper says squid of this size are "within the range of DML measured in juvenile Magnapinna sp. specimens".) |
| In a towed-camera image taken in the Great Australian Bight in November 2015, a bigfin squid appears to be coiling several of its filaments where they join the arms, a behavior not previously seen in squids. | The first Magnapinna sp. sighting was by towed camera at a depth of 2178 m on 15 November 2015 ... Distal arm/tentacle filaments were not visible in the video but were captured in the still image ... with approximately three distal filaments appearing coiled at their proximal ends (note: The still image is from Sighting 1 (15 November 2015); the paper was published in 2020. "Where they join the arms" is the paper's "at the junction with proximal arms/tentacles".) |
| In a towed-camera image taken in the Great Australian Bight in November 2015, a bigfin squid appears to be coiling several of its filaments where they join the arms, a behavior not previously seen in squids. | A towed camera image from Sighting 1 appears to show coiling of several arm/tentacle filaments at their proximal ends; a behaviour not previously seen in squids. |
| At the time, filament coiling had been reported in only one other cephalopod, the distantly related vampire squid. | Comparative examples within the Cephalopoda are rare, as to date filament coiling has only been reported in the distantly related cephalopod Vampyroteuthis infernalis (note: "At the time" ties the paper's "to date" to its 2020 publication. Vampire squid is the common name of Vampyroteuthis infernalis. The paper's side figure (V. infernalis filaments up to eight times its body length) is not used.) |
| A towed-camera image taken in the Great Australian Bight in November 2015 appears to show a bigfin squid coiling several of its arm and tentacle filaments where they join the arms, a behavior not previously seen in squids. | The first Magnapinna sp. sighting was by towed camera at a depth of 2178 m on 15 November 2015 ... Distal arm/tentacle filaments were not visible in the video but were captured in the still image ... with approximately three distal filaments appearing coiled at their proximal ends (note: The still image is from Sighting 1 (15 November 2015); the paper was published in 2020. "Where they join the arms" is the paper's "at the junction with proximal arms/tentacles".) |
| A towed-camera image taken in the Great Australian Bight in November 2015 appears to show a bigfin squid coiling several of its arm and tentacle filaments where they join the arms, a behavior not previously seen in squids. | A towed camera image from Sighting 1 appears to show coiling of several arm/tentacle filaments at their proximal ends; a behaviour not previously seen in squids. |
| At the time, filament coiling had been reported in only one other cephalopod, the distantly related vampire squid. | Comparative examples within the Cephalopoda are rare, as to date filament coiling has only been reported in the distantly related cephalopod Vampyroteuthis infernalis (note: "At the time" ties the paper's "to date" to its 2020 publication. Vampire squid is the common name of Vampyroteuthis infernalis. The paper's side figure (V. infernalis filaments up to eight times its body length) is not used.) |
| a squid filmed holding stationary just above the seafloor with its fins undulating | The squid was first observed in a horizontal position just above the seafloor, with proximal arms/tentacles spread and fins undulating. The squid appeared to be stationary |

## Guerrero-Kommritz et al. (2018). First observations of the bigfin squid Magnapinna sp. in the Colombian Southern Caribbean. Biodiversity Data Journal.

https://doi.org/10.3897/bdj.6.e24170

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The squid often holds the thicker part of each arm and tentacle at nearly a right angle to its body, with the long, slender part trailing behind. | the thicker regions of the arms and tentacles are often held at nearly right angles to the body axis and the long, slender portions of the arms and tentacles that trail the squid are nearly parallel to the body axis |
| Researchers think bigfin squid are likely found in tropical to temperate waters throughout the world's oceans, at great depths within a few meters of the bottom. | Magnapinnids are likely found, at least in temperate to tropical latitudes, throughout the world's oceans at great depths within a few meters from the bottom. |