Scientists Detect an Elusive Giant Squid and Many Other Surprising Marine Animals Near Western Australia Thanks to DNA in the Water

Mucus, feces, skin and other shed tissue allowed researchers to investigate which creatures have been swimming in two deep-sea canyons without having to observe or catch them

May 26, 2026 4:31 p.m.

An aerial view of Western Australia’s Ningaloo)coast — Western Australia’s Ningaloo coast MODIS Land Rapid Response Team / NASA GSFC

It seems like every time researchers stick their heads—or their remotely operated vehicles—underwater, they find a shocking array of animals thriving far beyond humanity’s reach. A study published in March in the journal Environmental DNA is no different, though the researchers, who investigated life in deep marine canyons off Western Australia’s Ningaloo coast, used a technique that doesn’t involve capturing or even seeing the creatures in question.

The team surveyed underwater canyons in the eastern Indian Ocean about 750 miles north of Perth, during an expedition in the spring of 2020 aboard the U.S.-based Schmidt Ocean Institute’s RV Falkor. They collected nearly 200 water samples at five different depths, up to 2.8 miles below the surface, and then extracted the environmental DNA, or eDNA, hidden within. These bits of genetic material are left behind by animals in their mucus, feces, skin and other shed tissue.

“We can take these fragments, match them to a database, and then see what species were living there without actually having to see them on cameras,” lead author Georgia Nester, a molecular ecologist now at the University of Western Australia, explains in a video. “In marine environments, [eDNA] degrades pretty quickly, up to a scale of hours to days. So, what that means is that we know that the animal was present in the environment of sampling within a timescale of at least a day.”

Comparing the gathered eDNA to genetic reference data revealed that a surprising ocean neighbor had recently swum by: a rare giant squid. These massive marine creatures can grow to about 43 feet long—roughly the length of a school bus—and weigh between about 330 and 600 pounds.

Notably, the team found traces of the giant squid in both analyzed canyons, Cape Range and Cloates. This detection marks the third time one of these rare animals has ever been observed by scientists in Western Australia’s waters, says study co-author Lisa Kirkendale, head of aquatic zoology at the Western Australian Museum, in a statement. The last known evidence of a giant squid in the area was from more than 25 years ago, she adds.

Did you know? Live sightings are recent developments

Giant squids were first filmed alive in 2006 and first recorded in a natural habitat in 2012.

“Finding evidence of a giant squid really captures people’s imagination, but it’s just one part of a much bigger picture,” Nester says in the statement. “We found a large number of species that don’t neatly match anything currently recorded, which doesn’t automatically mean they’re new to science, but it strongly suggests there is a vast amount of deep‑sea biodiversity we’re only just beginning to uncover.”

The researchers documented a total of 226 species from 11 major animal groups. These include a significant number of species that had never been found in Western Australian waters, including the faceless cusk eel and the sleeper shark. They also found evidence of deep-diving whales like the Pygmy sperm whale and Cuvier’s beaked whale.

Additionally, “each depth zone had its own unique taxa”—biological categories, like genus and phylum—“and the canyons were actually distinct in the biodiversity that they [had] as well,” Nester says in the video.

six panels of six different marine animals — Th team found recorded 226 species across the Cape Range and Cloates canyons. G. Nester et al., *Environmental DNA*, 2026

eDNA has some major advantages over traditional cameras and nets. It reveals the presence of fragile, rare and fast animals that can’t always be captured with standard biodiversity assessment approaches. What’s more, a single water sample can hold clues about hundreds of species, Nester says in the statement.

While eDNA research has rapidly advanced over the past two decades, mainly for aquatic applications, scientists are now pushing the boundaries even further. For instance, some are trying to vacuum these fragments of genetic material out of the air to investigate land animals and have even tested it at zoos.

Still, the approach likely won’t replace traditional methods; rather, eDNA is a useful tool to add to researchers’ monitoring techniques, said Fabian Roger, an eDNA researcher and co-founder of the Swiss startup DNAir, to Smithsonian magazine’s Corryn Wetzel in 2022. “Biodiversity science is sort of an all-hands-on-deck situation. It’s not one over the other, or one or the other.”

Overall, the more researchers learn about a certain environment, the better they can protect it.

“By characterizing the biodiversity of the Cape Range and Cloates canyons, we will generate important biological baseline information that can provide a foundation for future management and conservation efforts,” the researchers write in the new study.

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