Scientists have finally managed to film a colossal squid in its natural environment

There are a lot of species that we only know a little about. One example is the colossal squid, which after being discovered for the first time around 100 years ago, has never been recorded in its natural environment, mainly because they tend to live in very, very deep parts of the ocean. There has been footage of these creatures shared before, but it has only ever been of dying adults that have come to the surface and been spotted near fishing boats. This latest development is the first time that one of the creatures has been seen in its natural habitat.

As per BBC News, the main catch is that this isn't a fully-grown colossal squid, but rather a juvenile one that is only around 30 cm in length. It was captured by scientists operating an unnamed vessel near the Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean all at a depth of approximately 600 metres, which is equivalent to almost two Eiffel Towers stacked on top of one another.

The footage was actually captured in March by a team led by the University of Essex academic, who set out on a 35-day mission to find and record new aquatic life. While the colossal squid isn't "new", this is definitely a feat to be proud of. Check out the footage below as per Scientific American.

The next challenge will be to find and capture an adult colossal squid in its natural habitat, which you would think would be easier than spotting a juvenile one, as they can grow to be as long as seven metres and weigh around half a tonne.