Amazing ROV Footage of the First Confirmed Live Sighting of the Elusive Colossal Squid

An international team of researchers aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor (too) launched the ROV SuBastion, which captured the first confirmed live sighting of the elusive colossal squid at 600 meters down in the midnight zone of the Atlantic Ocean near the South Sandwich Islands.

This is the first confirmed live observation of the colossal squid, Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, at depth in its natural habitat. Pilots filmed the young cephalopod at about 600m near the South Sandwich Islands as the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s remotely operated vehicle SuBastian descended through the water column on a dive aiming to discover new marine species, in partnership with Ocean Census during thei

Narrator Dr. Kat Bolstad explained that this rare and beautiful creature was just a baby.

The 30-centimeter juvenile squid (nearly one foot long) was captured on video at a depth of 600 meters (1968 feet) by the Institute’s remotely operated vehicle (ROV) SuBastian. The sighting occurred on March 9 [2025] on an expedition near the South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean.

This discovery was made during an important anniversary for the species.

This year is the 100-year anniversary of the identification and formal naming of the colossal squid, a member of the glass squid family

The ROV SuBastion