IT MAY look like something out of a movie but this is the first real-life action picture of a mythical monster of the deep - the giant squid.

Japanese researchers captured dramatic images of this 26ft deep sea squid attacking bait at a depth of nearly 3,000ft.

The creature became snagged on a hook - then frantically battled for more than four hours to get away.

But in its struggle to escape the monster, called Architeuthis, left behind one of its 16ft tentacles.

And when it was hauled back, Archi's severed tentacle was still squiggling and squirming, its large suckers repeatedly gripping the boat deck.

Giant squid, the stuff of sea legend, also have the largest eyes in the animal kingdom, measuring up to 18in across.

For hundreds of years mariners have told tales of ships being attacked by the creatures, and of their epic battles with sperm whales.

But in reality, little is known about the elusive animals, which spend most of their time far below the ocean surface.

In the past century, only about 50 specimens, or their body parts, have been recovered, either washed up on beaches or caught on fishing lines.

Despite repeated attempts, no one had managed to see a giant squid swimming in its natural environment - until now.

Previous teams have tried using submersibles and cameras attached to sperm whales, which are the giant squid's only known natural predator.

The Japanese scientists led by Dr Tsunemi Kubodera, from the National Science Museum in Tokyo, tracked the movement of sperm whales to find a likely location for giant squid.

Each year between September and December, sperm whales gather to feed in the ocean depths off the Ogasawara Islands, in the northern Pacific.

The team chose a spot to hunt for giant squid, deploying a combined camera and depth sounding device on the end of a long line. Baited hooks were suspended below the camera, which pointed down into the darkness.

And at 9.15am on September 30 last year, Archi attacked one of the baits.

He shot out two long tentacles which wrapped themselves in a ball around the bait, and became ensnared.

The dramatic events are described today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society.

The scientists wrote: "The recovered section of the tentacle was still functioning, with the large suckers of the tentacle club repeatedly gripping the boat deck and any offered fingers."

The longest giant squid on record measured 60ft, of which about 40ft consisted of the long feeding tentacles.