World-first video footage of the elusive colossal squid has been captured by US researchers.

It lives in the deep Antarctic waters, can reach up to seven metres in length, and weighs up to 500 kilograms.

Schmidt Ocean Institute’s remote drone filmed a baby colossal squid alive 600 metres down in its environment for the first time.

AUT Associate Professor and squid expert Dr Kat Bolstad says this is a very 'exciting' development. 

"We've been studying these animals, we've known about them for a century - personally, I've been studying them for over 20 years."

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