The Architeuthis dux is commonly known as the giant squid. Specimens have measured up to 18 m (59 ft) in length and 900 kg (1,980 lb) in weight.
At 9:15am local time on 30 September 2004, Japanese researchers managed to photograph an 8-m (26-ft) giant squid that had become entangled on a bait that they had laid for it, in waters nearly 1 km (0.6 mile) deep, off the Ogasawara Islands, Japan. Prior to this occasion, an adult giant squid had never been observed in its natural habitat.