Scientists from Japan for the first time managed to shoot on video giant squid that live in the depths of the Pacific ocean.

Unique footage was made a joint crew of the Japanese TV station NHK and the American Discovery Channel, and the initiator of the shooting was the national Museum of science and the environment of Japan. The expedition took place near titidzima Islands, located a thousand miles South of Tokyo.



To discover a giant squid, the researchers had to descend to a very great depths, carrying highly sensitive equipment. All they did 100 dives, having close the submersible, which housed a team of three people, about 400 hours. Their efforts were rewarded on merit. "Videokatie" caught a giant squid in the camera lens on depth of 630 meters. According to researcher Tsunami Kubodera, the employee of the Museum, they followed cephalopod mollusks to a depth of 900 meters.

Detected instance was the size of about 3 meters. Perhaps he might reach 8 meters, but the squid was missing two of the most long tentacles, which would give him long. The camera recorded squid at the moment when he held in his tentacles smaller squid. There were also notable his huge black eyes.

"It was unusually beautiful. I was so excited when I saw it, - shared his impressions Tsunemi Kubodera. - I was sure that we will find him, because we were intensive search in those areas in which it could be according to our assumptions". According to him, it was the first video of a giant squid in its natural habitat - in great depth.



In ancient times the giant cephalopods the terror of seafarers who lay about them whole legend. It is believed that one of these sea monsters became the prototype of the Kraken - the mythical sea monster.

Giant squid, or Architeuthis, can reach a length of up to 18 meters. Officially registered record length of 17.4 m with tentacles (instance was found on the banks of New Zealand in 1887). Giant squid live in temperate and subtropical zones of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. It is known that they eat other species of squid and deep sea fish Grenadier. The only predator, threatening an adult giant squid is the sperm whale.