Japanese divers capture giant squid on video
To see such a giant near the surface is a great success: they usually live at a depth of 300-1000 meters.
A pair of scuba divers managed to capture a 2.5-meter giant squid off the coast of Japan. It is reported by ScienceAlert with reference to the French news agency Agence France-Presse.
The giant squid in this case is not a description or an exaggeration, but a genus - also known as architeutis. These are one of the largest invertebrates: their length from fins to the tips of the tentacles can reach 8 meters. At the same time, they rarely pose for the camera: the first pictures of living individuals were obtained only in 2004, although they were known even before our era, and the first scientific description was made in 1857.
The squid in the video above was captured by Yosuke Tanaka and his wife Miki, who are diving in Toyooka, Honshu. They heard about the giant creature from an equipment salesman who spotted it in the bay. They took a boat and sent it out looking for it - and indeed found it floating near the rocky shoreline.
Tanaka noted that the squid's movements were different from those commonly exhibited by many fish and other sea creatures. Its tentacles and fins moved very slowly. At the same time, powerful tentacles really frightened: it is easy to imagine how with their help the squid defends itself from sperm whales, its main natural enemies.
The fact that giant squids live in the waters around Japan has long been known: periodically their bodies are washed ashore. But seeing them alive in the wild is really rare. This may be due to the fact that the animal is not very healthy: Tanaka noted sluggish movements and pieces of skin that fell off his body.
