Colossal squid caught on video for first time, seen swimming nearly 2,000 feet below ocean's surface

The colossal squid, the heaviest invertebrate in the world, was captured on video swimming in the deep sea for the first time since it was identified a century ago.

The colossal squid, the heaviest invertebrate in the world, was captured on video swimming in the deep sea for the first time since it was identified a century ago.

The video was recorded on March 9 by an international team of scientists and crew on an expedition near the South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, Schmidt Ocean Institute said in a news release.

The squid, scientifically named Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, was a juvenile at nearly 1 foot long, the release said. It was at a depth of 1,968 feet when scientists and crew members on the institute’s Falkor research vessel captured video of it with a remotely operated vehicle called SuBastian. 

The remotely operated vehicle SuBastian is recovered on the research vessel Falkor.Alex Ingle / Schmidt Ocean Institute"It’s exciting to see the first in situ footage of a juvenile colossal and humbling to think that they have no idea that humans exist," said Kat Bolstad of the Auckland University of Technology.

Bolstad was one of the scientific experts who assisted with verifying the video.