July 24, 2015 โ Oh July 9th, 2015 a group of lucky divers happened upon something truly remarkableโA 4-meter-wide clear sphere floating off the coast of a small town in Turkey. The sphere was 22 meters below the sea surface, and even up close, it appears almost invisible. But what exactly is it?
The divers didnโt know. Lutfu Tanriover, the videographer, told me via Facebook the group felt a mixture of both excitement and fear as they approached the mysterious blob. The blow felt โvery soft,โ and looked gelatinous. But only after the video went online did the mysterious blob get a possible ID. Dr. Michael Vecchione of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History was the first to propose a suggestion. Dr. Vecchione is an expert on squid, and to him this giant sphere looks like a huge squid egg mass, and itโs the largest heโs ever seen. In fact, egg masses like this may be floating off many major coasts, not just Turkeyโs. But what kind of squid, specifically, could produce a mass this big?
Dr. Vecchione best guess? A large red flying squid named Ommastrephes bartramii. These animal can grow to around 1.5 meters (~5 feet) in length. As their name suggests, red flying squid can fly, or rather glide, by jetting out of the water and flattening their tentacles and fins to make โwingsโ. Theyโve also got arms packed with suckers complete with โteethโ.