In another still from the November 2007 video, the Magnapinna's long arms hang from the squid's characteristic "elbows."

Scientists speculate that the animals feed by dragging their arms along the seafloorand grabbing prey--or perhaps the squid passively wait for prey to get stuck on one of the sticky appendages.

Much about Magnapinna, including its diet, remains unknown, because no intact adult specimens have been captured for direct study--dead or alive. What we do know comes mainly from analysis of videos like the one captured at the Perdido site and off Hawaii in 2001.