Why present this as a mystery solved? I’ve been hearing about this hypothesis for years.
Many deep-sea squid actively grab their prey, sporting two muscular tentacles used to drag unsuspecting prey into their mouths.
But one squid species that lives down deep—the "wimp" of the proverbial playground—has limp noodles for arms. Scientists have wondered for years how it managed to catch and eat anything.
Let’s not exaggerate the mystery too much. Lots of deep sea squid have been known not to be active hunters: Vampyroteuthis, for instance, despite the fearsome name is actually a flabby-bodied blob that lives in near-anoxic waters and has a very slow metabolism. The hypothesis that they catch small prey by ambush with dangling tentacles has been the default for a good long while.
But that doesn’t change the fact that it is beautiful to see. Here are recently captured video images of Grimalditeutis bonplandi flitting it’s slender tentacles about as lures for prey.
MBARI always gets the most gorgeous footage.