Researchers from the University of Western Australia (UWA) and Kelpie Geosciences in the U.K. recently caught some amazing video footage of a terrifying deep-sea squid that flashed a pair of brilliant “headlights” at the moment it goes in for the kill.
The scientists dropped a free-fall camera baited with mackerel just north of the Samoan Passage in the South Pacific. As the camera sank to the bottom, it was attacked by a Taningia danae—also known as the Dana octopus squid at a depth of around 3,366 feet.
“As we were reviewing the footage, we realized we had captured something very rare,” said Heather Stewart, an adjunct professor at UWA and a member of Kelpie Geosciences, in a statement.