In the inky depths of the Gulf of Mexico, a giant squid was filmed in its natural habitat for only the second time, scientists said.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a video of the squid, which was located about 100 miles southeast of New Orleans on Wednesday, The Washington Post reported. According to a NOAA log, written by Sonke Johnsen and Edie Widder the squid measured "at least" 10 to 12 feet long.
The team of researchers was studying the effects of light deprivation on sea life living 3,280 feet beneath the surface, the Post reported.
After researchers filmed the squid, squalls and a lightning strike hit their boat, causing some concern, the footage may have been lost, according to the NOAA log.
"Those of us on the main deck immediately ran to the Medusa computer to see if it was destroyed," the log authors wrote. "Losing the most amazing video you've ever seen just 30 minutes later would have been beyond ironic.
"Luckily, the computer was safe."
The crew also had to deal with a waterspout, according to the log.
To capture the images on video, the researchers used the Medusa camera system Widder developed. The camera uses red light that is undetectable to deep-sea animals and has a fake jellyfish to lure animals to get into camera range, the Post reported.
“It’s got eight writhing arms and two slashing tentacles,” Widder told the newspaper. “It has the largest eye of any animal we know of, it’s got a beak that can rip flesh. It has a jet propulsion system that can go backwards and forwards, blue blood and three hearts. It’s an amazing, amazing life form we know almost nothing about.”
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