ENVIRONMENT REPORT - Mystery Squid

ENVIRONMENT REPORT-January 4, 2002: Mystery Squid

By Cynthia Kirk
Squid found in the Indian
Ocean
(Photo -NOAA/Science)
This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.

Scientists have discovered a strange new kind of squid deep in the world’
s oceans.

Scientists reported seeing the sea creatures in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans
and in the Gulf¹ of Mexico. They say they have never seen anything like the mystery
squid before.

Evidence of the squid comes from pictures and video images taken by eight
independent scientists in four countries. The scientists took the pictures from inside
deep-water submarines. The deepest sighting was made almost five kilometers
below the surface of the ocean, in the western Atlantic near the coast of Brazil.

The mystery squid is about seven meters long. Most squids have two long tentacles²
and eight shorter arms. The new squid, however, has ten arms that are extremely
long, about six meters. Its arms are longer than those of any known squid species.

The squid’s arms are held in an unusual position. They spread out a short distance from the body, then bend
down sharply. The rest of the arms flow behind the squid as it swims.

Scientists also say the squid’s arms are sticky. The scientists discovered this when a squid became stuck to the
submarine while they were filming. Scientists believe the squid may use its long, sticky arms to trap food.

The mystery squid also has two huge fins³ that stick out from its small head. The fins look like two giant elephant
ears that appear to help the animal swim through the water.

Scientists have not captured the animal. So they could not tell how much the squid weighs. However, they say it
has a very small body, unlike that of the giant squid.

Michael Vecchione [VECK-ee-own] is a scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric⁴ Administration. He
wrote about the mystery squid in Science magazine. He said the discovery shows how little researchers know
about life deep in the world’s oceans.

Areas of deep water make up more than ninety percent of the living space on Earth. However, scientists do not
know much about deep sea areas. That is because these areas are difficult, dangerous and costly⁵ to explore. The
mystery squids were discovered accidentally by scientists or oil company workers looking for something else at
the bottom of the ocean.

This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written by Cynthia Kirk.

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1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 tentacles   

n.触手( tentacle的名词复数 )；触角；触须；触毛

参考例句：

• Tentacles of fear closed around her body. 恐惧的阴影笼罩着她。
• Many molluscs have tentacles. 很多软体动物有触角。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 fins   

[医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌

参考例句：

• The level of TNF-α positively correlated with BMI,FPG,HbA1C,TG,FINS and IRI,but not with SBP and DBP. TNF-α水平与BMI、FPG、HbA1C、TG、FINS和IRI呈显著正相关，与SBP、DBP无相关。 来自互联网
• Fins are a feature specific to fish. 鱼鳍是鱼类特有的特征。 来自辞典例句

4 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

5 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。