A Japanese research team has succeeded in videotaping a live giant squid -- in what may be the first such footage ever -- and says the elusive creatures may be more common than previously believed, a scientist said Friday.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The research team, led by Tsunemi Kubodera, videotaped the 7-meter-long giant squid on the surface after capturing it off the Ogasawara Islands earlier this month. The specimen died as it was being caught.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>'We believe this is the first time anyone has successfully filmed a giant squid alive,' said Kubodera, a researcher with the National Science Museum. 'Now that we know where to find them, we think we can be more successful studying them in the future.'</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The squid was caught using a smaller squid as bait, and pulled into a research vessel 'after putting up quite a fight,' Kubodera said.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>'It took two people to reel it in, and they lost it once, which may have caused the injuries that killed it,' he said.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>He said the squid, a female, was not fully grown and was relatively small by giant squid standards.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>'The longest one on record is 18 meters,' he said.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Kubodera and his team spotted the squid on Dec. 4 off Chichijima Island, about 960 km southeast of Tokyo. The researchers had been working in the area for about three years before they succeeded in making their first contact with the squid two years ago. </PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Last year, the team succeeded in taking a series of still photos of one of the animals in its habitat -- also believed to be a first.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Giant squid, whose scientific name is Architeuthis, are the world's largest invertebrates.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Because they live in the deep, they have long been shrouded in mystery and make frequent appearances in the ancient Greek myths of sea monsters, or attacking the submarine in Jules Verne's '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.'</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Kubodera said whales led his team to the squid. By finding the whales' feeding ground, he believed he could locate the squid -- and he was right.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>'Giant squid are a major source of food for sperm whales,' Kubodera said.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>He added that, judging by the number of whales that feed on them, there may be many more giant squid than previously thought.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>'Sperm whales need from 500 kg to 1,000 kg of food every day,' he said. 'There are believed to be 200,000 or so –

, and that would suggest there are quite a few squid for them to be feeding on. I don't think they are in danger of extinction."

Having taped the squid, Kubodera said his next goal is to study the creatures' habits in their natural surroundings -- at a depth of around 650 meters.

But he said he is doesn't plan to try to capture one alive.