It’s one of the ocean’s most elusive giants — and for the first time ever, we’ve seen it alive.
A juvenile colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) was captured on camera in its natural deep-sea habitat, gliding just under 2,000 feet below the surface near the South Sandwich Islands. This marks the first in situ footage of the species since it was identified in 1925 — and yes, it took a whole century to get here.
The creature, nearly transparent and just under 12 inches long, is technically still in its baby phase. As an adult, it could reach up to 23 feet and weigh over 1,100 pounds, making it the heaviest invertebrate on the planet. The video, recorded by the remotely operated vehicle SuBastian aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s R/V Falkor, is already rewriting what scientists thought they knew about these mysterious deep-sea dwellers.
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The Colossal Squid: 100 Years of Hiding in Plain Sight
Until now, colossal squids had only been spotted postmortem — either tangled in fishing nets or found as leftovers in the bellies of sperm whales. While the more famous giant squid is longer and has had its share of media fame, the colossal squid is thicker, heavier, and even less understood. Think of it as the deep-sea’s stealthy heavyweight champion.
These creatures were first discovered in 1925 when two tentacles were found inside a whale. Since then, encounters have been limited to dying adults or unidentifiable remains. Their massive, sensitive eyes and hook-lined tentacles distinguish them from other glass squids, but their elusive nature — and aversion to bright, noisy tech — has made them nearly impossible to study alive.
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“Give Me the High Res!”
The footage nearly slipped past the crew. Thom Linley, a deep-sea fish expert aboard the Falkor, spotted something strange just before a dive. He snapped a quick, blurry image and sent it to squid expert Dr. Kat Bolstad. Her response? Pure academic urgency:
“Give me the high res! Give me the high res!”
Alongside fellow researcher Aaron Evans, Bolstad confirmed the ID: a juvenile colossal squid. The clincher? Those distinctive hooks on its tentacles — a telltale feature of the species.
Cue the marine biology version of a fangirl meltdown.
“We started hyperventilating,” Evans said. “I can’t speak for Kat — I started hyperventilating.”
Understanding a Species We’ve Barely Met
This isn’t just cool science trivia — it’s a window into one of Earth’s most secretive species. We still know painfully little about the colossal squid: how it grows, what it eats, how long it lives, or how it reproduces. What we do know has mostly come from comparing it to other, better-studied squids.
This juvenile, with its translucent body and pearly internal organs, is a glimpse into a life stage never seen before. Scientists hope it will help illuminate how colossal squids behave early on — and maybe even where they go when no one’s looking.
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What’s Next in the Deep Sea
The discovery was part of a 35-day expedition co-led by the Schmidt Ocean Institute, the Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census, and GoSouth — a collaboration of researchers from the UK, Germany, and the British Antarctic Survey. And it comes just in time: 2025 will mark the 100-year anniversary of the colossal squid’s formal naming.
“These unforgettable moments remind us that the ocean is brimming with mysteries yet to be solved,” said Jyotika Virmani of the Schmidt Ocean Institute.
And clearly, some of those mysteries are armed with hooks and weighing half a tonne.
