Live giant squid caught on camera for the first time

A team of scientists have filmed a live giant squid in its natural habitat for the first time.

The team from Japan's Natural Science Museum plunged nearly 1km below the surface of the Pacific Ocean searching for the creature.

Several giant squid have been caught and brought to the surface in the past.

However, no one has been able to film the mysterious monster deep down in the sea where it lives.

The creature the team spotted was about three metres long.

In order to get close to the squid, the team used a special submarine kitted out with lights that are invisible to the creature's eyes.

It's thought the giant squid inspired the myth of the 'kraken', a tentacled monster that's talked about in old sea stories.

Really huge!

Architeuthis show to approximate scale next to the Shinkai 6500, a famous 31-feet-long Japanese manned research submersible.

Its silver skin glimmering in the dark under the submersible's lights, looking suspiciously at the sub with its giant black eyes, the sea monster was amazing, according to Tsunemi Kubodera, the mission leader:

It was shining and so beautiful. I was so thrilled when I saw it first hand, but I was confident we would because we rigorously researched the areas we might find it, based on past data. Researchers around the world have tried to film giant squid in their natural habitats, but all attempts were in vain before.

From CBBC and Gizmodo