Giant squid filmed in Pacific depths by scientists

wow...speechless.

Unleash the KRAKEN!! lol jk but that sure is a biggen!

Needle in a haystack. They found the needle.

Kubodera said the creature had its two longest arms missing, and estimated it would have been eight metres long if it had been whole. He gave no explanation for its missing arms. He stated as he tucked into his dish of ika tempura.

Lets hope this one doesnt end up in some Sushi Restaurant.

Don't you have a better picture, Japan Today??? We can't see its whole body.

Canadian ...good point....here it comes they must catch as much as they can in the name of scientific research....look at what that Tuna sold for.....bet someone is rolling around a large dollar value in the thoughts of slicing up this magnificent creature

I remember reading about two Ph.D students who did their research on these giant squid and as a celebration when they were finished they cooked and ate some of a fresh sample they had obtained. Apparently it tasted awful and it is believed the flesh has quite a high ammonia content. Therefore it is rather unlikely that they will end up in sushi shops even if we did find out where they exist in a high concentration.

So much for my scuba holiday...

Sweet, to be able to film a live one in its natural habitat is awesome. I can't wait for them to release the program! I love watching these kinds of shows. I'm mostly watching PBS "Nature", Nova, and National Geographic shows.

And that is one of the reasons why I don't like open water. I bet it eats humans as well. brrrr

So much for my scuba holiday...

Over 600 meters deep you dive? Wow, I hope you don't look like a squid, reverse sushi.....

So when will the squid fleet sail out for scientific study?

Man! That huge squid can make one yummy BBQ for lots of people!!

whale food

Damned paparazzi, following us everywhere. Is there no privacy at 600m anymore?

How much calamari would that make?

Cthulhu's spawn.

Please dont eat it Japan

Amazing , can't wait to see it on TV .

MMMMMMmmmmmm Lunch!

Readers, no more eating jokes please.

It sounds big but this article does seem to be a little misleading, no?

Scientists and broadcasters said Monday they have captured footage of an elusive giant squid, up to eight meters long that roams the depths of the Pacific Ocean.

Was the squid captured on film really up to 8 m long?

Modern-day scientists on their own Moby Dick-style search used a submersible to get them into the dark and cold depths of the northern Pacific Ocean, where at around 630 meters they managed to film a three-metre specimen....Kubodera said the creature had its two longest arms missing, and estimated it would have been eight metres long if it had been whole. He gave no explanation for its missing arms.

Apparently not. Of course, 3 m seems big and maybe it is for a squid, but it's not as interesting as 8 m, is it? All we have is Kubodera's estimate on how big he thinks the squid would be if it hadn't lost it's two longest arms. It may be an educated guess, but it is still a guess. He wouldn't be the first scientist to use a bit of exageration to try an increase interest in something.

Thats lovely, its kind of true than those Popeye cartoons about the giant squid that eats the ships.

Just an approximate 3m specimen...extrapolated by guesswork to 8m.

Much ado about nothing. Similar species were seen in the BBC Earth series and Deep Blue video.

As stated in the excellent article this is the first live footage of this remarkable species in its natural habitat, well done and congratulations to Tsunemi Kubodera San.

"up to eight meters long"

Is that all? That's nowhere as big as the squid that took down the Black Pearl.

Never could cope with sea swimming, not any further out from the beach than my feet could touch the sand. Most bits of ocean, even in cute family seaside resorts, are just the little wet edges of vast regions of an unexplored undersea world where all kinds of unimaginable creatures might have lived, unseen, for millions of years. I dont want them to be caught or hurt, I just dont want to meet them or invade any part of their territory.

ensnaturae, you know, even when your feet touch the sand or the ground, you invade a part of the territory where all kinds of creatures have lived for millions of years.

Beautiful pics, and a stunning creature, though if I were anywhere near it in a small submersible I'd be more freaked out than fascinated. Anyway, I guess the giant squid didn't think they looked very delicious. I wonder if the crew thought the opposite!

Haha. Seriously though, amazing that they found one. And now that they know precisely where to look, perhaps they can find more and do more studies.

Here is video of the squid

http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/8153444/Giant-squid-filmed-in-world-first