Gabe Newell Found 'Unknown Life' Under Water

Summary

Inkfish Expeditions, a marine research company founded by Gabe Newell, explores remote parts of the ocean using deep-diving submersibles, camera landers, and seabed-mapping equipment. The video focuses on observations from its early expeditions, especially in the Tonga Trench and Antarctica.

Some animals are presented as rare or potentially unknown, but several identifications remain uncertain.

Scientific Observations and Discoveries

Rare squid sightings

• In the Tonga Trench, an expedition filmed a bigfin squid with tentacles described as about 13 feet long. The video says only around a dozen sightings have been recorded.
• Other footage showed:
  • A Dana squid producing bioluminescent flashes.
  • A deep-sea hoop squid (Taningia danae) attaching itself to a camera lander at roughly 1,000 metres.
• Antarctic deployments recorded several kinds of squid, including transparent or pale-bodied forms and Alluroteuthis antarcticus. One was seen with prey in its tentacles, while another appeared to be carrying part of another squid.
• Squid were also filmed swimming near the submersible during dives.

A large amphipod from the deep

Baited traps set at about 7,000 metres caught a “super giant” amphipod measuring more than 20 centimetres. The video says members of this group can reach about 36 centimetres and are typically found between 6,000 and 7,500 metres.

Researchers preserved the specimen in formalin for further study. They planned to examine its large, yellow, eye-like structures and investigate whether they function as eyes in near-total darkness.

An unidentified deep-sea octopus

At around 3,760 metres, the crew spotted a pale octopus on the seafloor. They compared it with the “Casper” ghost octopus, first reported by scientists in Hawaii in 2016, but did not identify it as the same animal.

The footage suggests it may be an incirrate octopus, a group that lacks webbing between the arms. An expert consulted by the crew could not determine its identity. It may be an undescribed species, but that was not confirmed.

Sleeper sharks

• In Antarctic waters, a sleeper shark was filmed at about 490 metres. The video describes this as the first filming of a sleeper shark in Antarctic deep water and estimates that the shark was over two metres long.
• Near the Tonga Trench, a Pacific sleeper shark was filmed at roughly 1,400 metres. It was estimated to be about 3.5 metres long and identified as female based on the absence of visible claspers. The water temperature was around 2.5°C.

Unexplained marks on Antarctic rocks

Researchers observed white, organic-looking stripes attached to glacially transported rocks. The stripes often appeared on only one face of a rock. The team suspected the material might be biological, perhaps a sponge, but had not identified it and planned to seek specialist input.

Life at extreme depths

A dive to Horizon Deep, at approximately 10,850 metres, found a largely desolate environment with little visible life and low diversity.

By contrast, the video reports that expedition footage yielded a catalog of more than 100 species, with the team describing totals ranging from roughly 119 to over 120. It says a species catalog of this kind had not previously been produced in the same way.

Methods and Equipment

The expeditions used:

• Crewed submersibles, camera landers, and seabed-mapping systems to survey remote ocean areas.
• Transects and cameras deployed at specified depths to record animals and habitats.
• Baited traps to collect specimens, which were then preserved for later study.
• Footage review and specialist consultation when animals could not be identified from observation alone.

Researchers and Sources Featured

• Gabe Newell — Founder of Inkfish Expeditions; featured as the company’s owner, not as a researcher.
• Victor Vescovo — Explorer and former U.S. Navy SEAL; the subtitles say he sold Inkfish its submersibles and exploration platform.
• Al Scott — Named as a submersible pilot during the octopus sighting.
• Inkfish researchers and expedition crew — Unnamed team members quoted about sightings, specimen handling, and identifications.
• An expert consulted about the octopus — Unnamed.
• Scientists at the University of Hawaii — Unnamed; mentioned in connection with the 2016 report of the Casper ghost octopus.
• Inkfish Expeditions — The principal research organization and source of the expedition footage.