Yes—but the footage is of a translucent juvenile colossal squid, not a blood-red adult. On March 9, 2025, an underwater robot recorded the animal alive at 600 metres near the South Sandwich Islands. It was the first confirmed footage of a colossal squid in its natural habitat at depth—not the first footage of any colossal squid.
Was it really a colossal squid?
Schmidt Ocean Institute announced that the animal was a juvenile colossal squid, Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni. The team consulted independent squid experts to verify the identification. Dr. Kat Bolstad, a squid researcher at Auckland University of Technology, was among the experts consulted. Schmidt Ocean Institute’s announcement describes the identification and footage.
It was not a giant squid, nor the other Antarctic squid featured in separate recent reports. A University of Western Australia report from May 2024 concerned Taningia danae, a hooked squid filmed north of the Samoan Passage. Another report concerned Gonatus antarcticus in the Weddell Sea. Those are different species and sightings.
What does “first ever” mean here?
The 2025 sighting is the first confirmed live observation of a colossal squid in its natural habitat at depth. It is not accurate to say a colossal squid had never been filmed before: fishermen had previously filmed dying adults. The distinction is that this was confirmed footage of a living animal in the deep-sea environment where it lives.
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- Generous Size Dimensions: 25.6''/65cm (full length, including tentacles). Please NOTE: It is manual measurement, please allow the size deviation of 2-3cm (about 1'')
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Where and how was the squid filmed?
On March 9, 2025, ROV SuBastian filmed the squid at a reported depth of 600 metres (1,968 feet) near the South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic. SuBastian was operated from Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor (too), during a 35-day Ocean Census flagship expedition searching for marine life. Ocean Census’s account of the expedition describes the sighting and expert verification.
Why does the squid look see-through?
The filmed animal was a juvenile, estimated at about 30 centimetres (nearly one foot) long. Schmidt Ocean Institute describes it as translucent and says juveniles eventually lose their see-through appearance. The announcement does not describe this individual as red, so “blood-red” is not a factual description of the animal in this footage.
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How big can a colossal squid get?
Schmidt Ocean Institute estimates that the species may reach up to seven metres (23 feet) and 500 kilograms (about 1,100 pounds). Those are estimates of the species’ potential maximum size and mass—not measurements of the juvenile filmed in 2025. The institute describes the colossal squid as the heaviest invertebrate and notes that little is known about its life cycle. The institute’s announcement provides those estimates.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why is the sighting significant?
Colossal squid are rarely encountered alive in their deep-sea habitat. Dr. Bolstad noted that for a century, people have mainly encountered evidence of them in prey remains from whale and seabird stomachs, or as predators of harvested toothfish. Seeing a juvenile alive offers a glimpse of an animal that has remained difficult to observe, but the footage does not establish its behavior, life cycle, or how many colossal squid exist.
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Expedition chief scientist Dr. Michelle Taylor, of the University of Essex, highlighted how researchers could consult taxonomic experts through telepresence while at sea. That expert input helped the team assess what the remote vehicle had recorded.
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