Japanese scientists have taken the first photographs of one of the most mysterious creatures in the deep ocean - the giant squid.

Until now the only information about the behaviour of the creatures - which measure up to 18 metres in length - has been based on dead or dying squid washed up on shore or captured in commercial fishing nets.

A remote-control camera was used to capture this photo of an 8-metre long giant squid, 900 metres deep off the coast of Japan's Bonin islands, 1,000 kilometers (670 miles) south of Tokyo. The white line at left is a rope used to dangle bait. (AP Photo/HO, National Science Museum)

The research team tracked the eight-metre-long squid as it attacked prey 900 meters under the waters off the coast of Japan's Bonin islands.

The camera was operated by remote control.

"Up to now, giant squids were thought to be relatively sluggish squids that stay in deep waters without moving much ... But we found out that they move around pretty actively," said Tsunemi Kubodera, of Japan's National Science Museum.

Dr. Tsunemi Kubodera stands in front of an Architeuthis, or giant squid, his team captured in 1996 in the Japan Sea. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

The photos cap a three-year search for the squid in around the Bonin islands.

Giant squid have remained a source of great interest. They have been the source of the legend of the "kraken" -- tentacled monsters that sailors claimed to have encountered in seas off the coast of Norway in the 18th century.