A live, adult giant squid has been caught on camera in the wild for the very first time.
Japanese researchers took pictures of the elusive creature hunting 900m down, enveloping its prey by coiling its tentacles into a ball.
The images show giant squid, known as Architeuthis, are more vigorous hunters than has been supposed.
The images, captured in the Pacific Ocean, appear in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
It was exciting to get a live Architeuthis tentacle. It was still functioning when we got it on the boat
Tsunemi Kubodera, National Science Museum
Documentary companies have invested millions of dollars trying to film adult giant squid in their natural environment. These efforts have met with little success - though one team has managed to capture a juvenile on film.
leave it to the japanese. while everyone else works on hair-brained schemes to lure the squid in, they go fishing.