NOAA has a wonderful project called the Deep Scope explorer—they're dropping hi-tech low-light-level cameras with various sensor modalities down into the deep dark spaces in the ocean, and picking up all kinds of interesting stuff. They have a page of short video clips and photographs, and in particular, check out this movie of a Mastigoteuthis nibbling at some bait.

A very large squid was caught on film this morning deep in the Gulf of Mexico. A one-of-a-kind technology, called the Eye-in-the-Sea, captured the giant lurking in front of its red light cameras over 1,600 ft below the surface.

The event was triggered by a bioluminescence (light) sensor that turned the camera on, capturing a few seconds of the deep-water predator before it swam away. This marks the first time a squid has ever been filmed by this unobtrusive observation tool.

Initial studies identify the squid as a Mastigoteuthis, approximately six ft in length. The science team will re-deploy the camera system on the sea floor for 24-hour periods over the next week. Stay tuned for more updates from sea.