A colossal squid that can weigh the same as a car has been pictured in its natural environment for the first time. At full size experts believe it can grow to 7m (23ft) in length, which is about the height of a two-story building. 

If experts are right about their predictions, it would be the heaviest invertebrate on the planet, weighing up to 500kg (1,100lbs), the equivalent of a Fiat 500. The squid was caught on video as a juvenile, measuring just 30cm long at a depth of 600m (1,968ft) near the South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. Dr Kat Bolstad, who helped verify the footage, said the majority of sightings were previously inside whales or seabirds as prey remains, until now. 

She said: "It's exciting to see the first in situ footage of a juvenile colossal and humbling to think that they have no idea that humans exist."

The footage was captured by crew aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute's Falkor (too) vessel, who filmed it with a remotely operated vehicle called SuBastian. Experts from the University of Plymouth and the British Antarctic Survey were involved in the quest.

The world's first ever full adult-male colossal squid to be witnessed was in New Zealand aboard a fishing ship in 2007, but this is the first time it has been captured in the wild.

Formally known as Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, the intriguing and mysterious creature has hooks on the middle of its eight arms.

Little is known about their lifecycle, but adults eventually lose the transparency of juveniles.