It's a good day to be a fan of cephalopods. The scientific community has known about the colossal squid, or Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, since 1925. It's theorized to be the largest invertebrate on the planet, hence the name, but the closest anyone has come to actually seeing the thing is finding remains in the stomachs of sperm whales, one of its few predators. Not anymore. After more than a hundred years of theorizing, the Schmidt Ocean Institute has finally captured footage of a live colossal squid in the wild.
…Note that it doesn't look very colossal. This specimen is a juvenile measuring about a foot, but it still gives fascinating insight into the squid's biology and habits. For me personally, the existence of literal giant squids is yet another reason never to venture into the ocean, but I'm happy for the marine biologists. No, really – the more they know about this thing, the further they can keep it away from me.
Previously:
• How To: Harvest your own squid ink
• Giant hand-sewn giant squid is giant!
• Delightful deepsea encounter with a wildly cute and weird piglet squid
• Elusive squid with biological headlights attacks undersea camera (video)
