PERTH, Australia — Scientists have confirmed the presence of the legendary giant squid in Western Australian waters for the first time using cutting-edge environmental DNA technology, revealing a hidden world of biodiversity in the deep submarine canyons off the Ningaloo Coast.

The discovery, announced this week, marks the northernmost record of Architeuthis dux in the eastern Indian Ocean and comes from a Curtin University-led expedition that detected traces of the elusive creature across multiple water samples collected from extreme depths.

Researchers aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor surveyed the Cape Range and Cloates submarine canyons, located about 1,200 kilometers north of Perth, as part of a broader effort to map deep-sea life. They collected more than 1,000 water samples from the surface down to depths exceeding 4,500 meters.

Using environmental DNA — genetic material shed by animals into the surrounding seawater — the team identified 226 species across 11 major animal groups without ever seeing or capturing most of them. The giant squid was detected in six separate samples from both canyons, providing the first molecular evidence of its presence in Western Australian waters.

A Mythical Creature Confirmed

Giant squid, which can grow up to 13 meters long — longer than a school bus — and weigh as much as 275 kilograms, possess the largest eyes in the animal kingdom, measuring up to 30 centimeters in diameter. These deep-sea dwellers have inspired myths of sea monsters like the kraken for........

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