{"id":650714,"date":"2026-05-05T07:51:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T07:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/650714\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T07:51:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T07:51:15","slug":"giant-squid-among-creatures-of-the-deep-hiding-off-was-ningaloo-coast-research-reveals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/650714\/","title":{"rendered":"Giant squid among creatures of the deep hiding off WA\u2019s Ningaloo Coast, research reveals"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Western Australia\u2019s famed Ningaloo Coast is hiding secrets in deep underwater canyons, with researchers discovering species previously unknown to the area in their depths, and others thought to be entirely new to science.<\/p>\n

Researchers surveyed the Cape Range and Cloates submarine canyons, about 1200 kilometres north of Perth, collecting more than 1000 samples from the surface all the way down to the sea floor more than 4500 metres below.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe research uncovered traces of giant squid off the coast of WA. This photo of the rarely seen sea creature was captured by Japanese researchers in 2006.TSUNEMI KUBODERA, NATIONAL SCIE<\/p>\n

Using environmental DNA (eDNA) \u2013 genetic material naturally shed by animals into seawater \u2013 scientists on the expedition, led by the WA Museum on board the Schmidt Ocean Institute\u2019s R\/V Falkor, were able to document what lurked in the deep sea without needing to see or capture the creatures.<\/p>\n

Among the most striking finds were traces of the giant squid, detected across six separate samples, plus deep-diving whales such as the Pygmy sperm whale and Cuvier\u2019s beaked whale.<\/p>\n

Giant squid typically grow to between 10 and 13 metres in length \u2013 longer than a school bus \u2013 can weigh up to 275 kilograms, and have the biggest eyes in the animal kingdom, comparable to the size of a large pizza.<\/p>\n

The elusive animals, which sparked stories of the mythological kraken monster, have rarely been seen by scientists in person, making the use of eDNA in studying them even more critical.<\/p>\n

\"AA brittle star captured by Curtin researchers at Ningaloo.Curtin University<\/p>\n

The study detected 226 species in total across 11 major animal groups, including rare fish, cnidarians, echinoderms, squid, marine mammals and more.<\/p>\n

Dozens of those species had never previously been recorded in WA waters, including the sleeper shark, faceless cusk eel and the slender snaggletooth.<\/p>\n

Lead author Dr Georgia Nester, who conducted the research as part of her PhD, said the results highlighted how little was known about WA\u2019s deep-sea ecosystems.<\/p>\n

\"GiantGiant Squid (Architeuthis sp.) tentacles from the Western Australian Museum collection, 1999. Each tentacle is about 8m long.WA Museum<\/p>\n

\u201cFinding evidence of a giant squid really captures people\u2019s imagination, but it\u2019s just one part of a much bigger picture,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe found a large number of species that don\u2019t neatly match anything currently recorded, which doesn\u2019t automatically mean they\u2019re new to science, but it strongly suggests there is a vast amount of deep-sea biodiversity we\u2019re only just beginning to uncover.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nester collected water samples and combined eDNA analysis with genetic reference sequences from physical specimens collected by a remotely operated vehicle.<\/p>\n

She said eDNA allowed the team to detect fragile, rare and fast-moving species that traditional cameras and nets may miss.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese canyons are incredibly rich ecosystems and, until now, they\u2019ve been largely unexplored because of the difficulty of working at such extreme depths,\u201d Nester said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith eDNA, a single water sample can tell us about hundreds of species at once.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat means we can dramatically expand our understanding of deep-water environments in a way that simply hasn\u2019t been possible before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first record of a giant squid detected off Western Australia\u2019s coast using eDNA protocols and the northernmost record of them in the eastern Indian Ocean.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Lisa Kirkendale<\/p>\n

Senior author, associate professor Zoe Richards, said eDNA had the potential to transform how scientists explore and protect the ocean.<\/p>\n

Another perspective\"Colossal<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cDeep-sea ecosystems are vast, remote and expensive to study, yet they face growing pressure from climate change, fishing and resource extraction,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnvironmental DNA gives us a scalable, non-invasive way to build baseline knowledge of what lives there, which is essential for informed management and conservation.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t protect what you don\u2019t know exists.\u201d<\/p>\n

The physical specimens were identified by taxonomists and are now permanently housed in the WA Museum\u2019s collection and research facility to aid further taxonomic research.<\/p>\n

WA Museum head of aquatic zoology and curator of molluscs Dr Lisa Kirkendale said there were only two other records of the giant squid in WA, but there had not been a sighting or a specimen for more than 25 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first record of a giant squid detected off Western Australia\u2019s coast using eDNA protocols and the northernmost record of them in the eastern Indian Ocean,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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\"HollyHolly Thompson<\/a> is a journalist with WAtoday, specialising in education and the environment.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":650715,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,128,338],"class_list":["post-650714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=650714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650714\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/650715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=650714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=650714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=650714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}