{"id":788545,"date":"2026-05-11T10:37:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T10:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/788545\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T10:37:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T10:37:16","slug":"rare-giant-squid-found-in-western-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/788545\/","title":{"rendered":"Rare giant squid found in western Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"

(NewsNation<\/a>) \u2014 Scientists have uncovered evidence of a giant squid in waters off western Australia for the first time in more than 25 years.<\/p>\n

The discovery comes from a 2026 study published in the journal Environmental DNA<\/a>, which analyzed samples collected during a deep\u2011sea research expedition near the Ningaloo coast.<\/p>\n

Researchers used environmental DNA, or eDNA, to identify marine species living below the surface.<\/p>\n

The team collected 178 water samples across five different depths in the eastern Indian Ocean, identifying evidence of 226 species from 126 families. Among those findings was genetic material linked to the elusive giant squid.<\/p>\n

Oakland Zoo debuts newborn pudu, the world\u2019s second-smallest deer <\/a><\/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 said study lead author Georgia Nester.<\/p>\n

In addition to the squid, researchers documented 83 new species records or range extensions for the region, including the sleeper shark and the faceless cusk eel, both identified in western Australian waters for the first time.<\/p>\n

According to the Smithsonian Ocean<\/a>, giant squid can grow to extraordinary sizes, with the largest recorded specimen measuring about 43 feet in length. The first confirmed video of a live giant squid in its natural habitat was captured in 2012; prior to that, most specimens had only been found dead or dying.<\/p>\n

According to the Smithsonian Ocean<\/a>, the largest giant squid ever detected was 43 feet long. Researchers first filmed a live giant squid in its natural habitat in 2012. Before that, the only other ones that were found were either dead or dying.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(NewsNation) \u2014 Scientists have uncovered evidence of a giant squid in waters off western Australia for the first…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":788546,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8],"tags":[322224,319995,159,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-788545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-eastern-indian-ocean","tag-giant-squid","tag-science","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116555510453539097","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=788545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788545\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/788546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=788545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=788545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=788545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}