Underwater robots have captured a uncommon glimpse of a female deep - sea calamary . Not only was it curb on to a clutch of unexpectedly jumbo egg , but it might also be a steel unexampled species .

Though recall to be abundant in the deepness of the ocean , deep - ocean calamari are something of a mystery , not assist by the fact that they ’re rarely seen alive . distinguish a female squidbroodingis rarer still , but that ’s exactly what take place back in 2015 when an subaquatic robot operated by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute ( MBARI ) nabbed some footage of a gonatidsquid with egg .

Remote - operated vehicles from MBARI had observeddeep - sea squidegg brooding on 17 previous juncture , but this one was different – the eggs were 11.6 millimeters ( 0.5 inches ) astray , nearly double the testicle size of other know gonatid species .

“ Our unexpected brush with a squid brooding giant ball capture the attention of everyone in the ship ’s control room , ” said MBARI Senior Scientist Steven Haddock , who was principal scientist during the expedition that meet this brooding squid in the Gulf of California , in astatement .

Not only were the squid ’s nut remarkably turgid , but there were also far few of them than might be expect . Many egg - create metal money in the ocean make loads of small eggs to maximize the chance of natural selection in a moderately unforgiving environment ( see : the root ofFinding Nemo ) .

But thing are different down in the depths . “ [ T]he stable and predictable environmental condition of the deep water column ( 1,000–4,000   m [ 3,280–13,123 base ] ) allow high relative investment in fewer young and may take for few , great eggs and advancedhatchlings , ” the authors of a field of study document the finding explain .

From try out specimen of other squid antecedently go steady in the Gulf of California , the squad of researchers involve also remember that the egg - brood female belongs to an obscure species within the family Gonatidae .

Whether that ’s confirmed or not , this mother calamary was investing more than many would be willing to give for her babies .

“ Brooding takes a lot out of a mother squid . She wo n’t eat while carrying her eggs and ultimately perish after her eggs incubate , ” explained Henk - Jan Hoving , the discipline ’s lead writer . Those egg might even take up to four years to hatch , according to the researchers – that ’s a farseeing prison term to go without a meal .

“ But hersacrificeimproves the probability that her progeny will survive , ” say Hoving . “ It ’s just one of the many singular adjustment that may help cephalopods to survive in the deep ocean . ”

The survey is published inEcology .