Giant squid videotaped in its natural habitat for the first time ever
A similar giant squid was discovered in Ross Sea, Antarctica on February 22, 2007.
Giant squid aficionados, rejoice: a team of scientists have managed to film a giant squid in its native deep-sea Pacific ocean habitat for the very first time, in footage that will be released in a series of international television specials later in the month.
Read more from GlobalPost: Giant squid found off the coast of Australia
Scientists made over 100 submersible missions before they were able to successfully follow and videotape a giant squid in July of 2012, at nearly a third of a mile below the ocean, writes Phys.org.
NHK writes that the budding squid star portrayed in the video was about 3 meters long, or 9 feet, and had suckers on its tentacles that measured 5 centimeters across. Impressive.
Previous footage of giant squid (linked below) was taken above-water by fishermen — an extremely unnatural setting, as the mysterious, secretive cephalopods very rarely have good reason to venture near the surface.
Giant squid live at such staggering depths that very little is known about them, and they were considered to be very nearly mythological for generations.
Science currently suspects that the massive, predatory creatures can grow to as large as 59 feet and can weigh as much as a ton, and may be able to get considerably bigger.
Sperm whales are thought to occasionally prey on the giant squid, an endeavor that could result in titanic undersea clashes.
Read more from GlobalPost: Giant eyeball mystery solved!
The footage's existence was first revealed earlier in December, when the joint Discovery Channel and NHK film team confirmed they had successfully caught the creature on tape to Discovery News.
Eager to view such tentacle-y splendor for yourself? Who wouldn't be?
Those lucky enough to live in Japan will get to see the footage first in a January 13 "NHK Special" program, according to the Asahi Shimbun. Save the date! Throw a wild squid-themed party!
US viewers should tune in to the Discovery Channel on January 27 at 8 PM eastern time for a showing of "Monster Squid: The Giant is Real," aired as the season finale of the Curiosity series.