The story of the giant squid captured last year in the cold waters of the Ross Sea has fascinated not only marine scientists, but also people all over the world, who tune in every day on Te Papa Tongarewa Museum’s website to watch the latest news on the specimen’s examination.

The creature is so rare that scientists have managed to catch only a few specimens over the past century, so having one for close analysis is an amazing opportunity. The squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) was submitted to a thawing process earlier this week and is currently undergoing a detailed study.

The team of scientists at the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum started by examining the squid’s colossal eyes, saying: “These are without doubt the largest eyes that have ever been studied, and probably among the largest eyes that have existed during the history of the animal kingdom,” as Eric Warrant from the University of Lund in Sweden, taking part in the examination, told BBC.

And as if that wasn’t enough, they’ve also discovered that the squid, a medium-sized female, has light-emitting organs most probably used for hunting in the dark (these creatures live at about 1,000 meters depth).

“The prey might well look at [the squid] and think, Well, I can’t be bothered with those two tiny little specks of light. And all of a sudden this great big thing lunges in and latches on to it with vicious hooks,” said Steve O’Shea, expert at Auckland’s University of Technology, according to National Geographic.

O’Shea also made the assumption that the squid’s prey also glows, which would normally put the squid in disadvantage, considering its see-through belly. However, the inner lining of its mantle, which is covered in dark red pigment, takes care of that problem.

The squid was also found to be very plastic, as its dimensions have obviously reduced post mortem. However, the beak, which is made of hard chitonous material and has 42.5 mm in lenght, remained the same, indicating that the specimen isn’t in fact the biggest one out there (the beaks found in sperm whale stomachs were 49 mm in length).

After scientists will examine the content of its stomach, to make an idea on the squid’s diet and way of life, the giant creature will be displayed in a tank filled with propylene glycol preservative at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.