Giant+Squid

The giant squid is one of the most newly documented animals in the world. The first photographs of it were just taken in 2004, by a team of japanese researchers led by Tsunemi Kubodera. Here are some of those photos.

Photo in the News: Giant Squid Captured, Filmed for the First Time [Electronic Image]. Retrieved November 11, 2010, from: []

The Latin name of the giant squid is Architeuthis dux. The phylum to which it belongs is Mollusca, which consists of mollusks. This phylum covers all animals without a vertebrae, or backbone, and have a shell made of calcium carbonate covered with a soft mantle. The phylum also includes animals like snails, slugs, shellfish like clams and mussels, and gastropods like starfish. The diversity within this phylum is huge. The sizes of animals range from over 8 metres (squids and octopi) to under 1 millimetre (some gastropods). In general mollusks have different sexes and reproduce sexually, with the few exceptions like gastropods, which have the reproductive organs of both genders and are known as hermaphrodites.

The giant squid, as mentioned earlier, is a very new creature to human knowledge. In the past, however, many many stories have been told about the giant Kraken, which is a creature that dwells in the depths of the oceans ready to shred and eat sailors. The Kraken is almost identical to the giant squid. It has arms tentacles, which are used to swim and grab food, and teeth in its body to help break down food. However, the Kraken is, like all fantasies and Hollywood impressions, very much exaggerated from the giant squid. The Kraken has rows and rows of teeth that grind all prey to shreds, while the squid has a beak. The Kraken angrily chews up all humans on board ships, while the squid primarily preys on fish and other squid that live deep in the water. The largest giant squid is estimated to be 13 metres in length, including the tentacles.

The giant squid's body is made up of a mantle (the main body), eight short arms, and two tentacles, which are used to grab prey. On each of the arms and tentacles are rows of suction cups, about 2 - 5 cm in diameter, each with chitin teeth around the edge of them. These help the squid grab onto the prey more securely. At the bottom of the mantle is the beak, which is in the middle of all the arms. The beak serves to break down the food for the squid to eat. To move, giant squids use concept similar to the rocket. It takes water into its mantle, then forces it out with its muscles, gliding smoothly in the water. This is known as a jet propulsion. Also, at the end of their mantles, squids have small dorsal fins that help with moving.

The eyes of a squid are huge. They are the largest, or the second largest to the Colossal squid, in the animal kingdom. They are each about 10 inches in diameter. These giant light-sensing organs allow the squids to see in the deep water in which they live. Light waves do not penetrate the deep water they are in, so coloured sight is not necessary. Squids' eyes only have black-and-white vision, and can see very well in the deep water.

Anatomically, the giant squid uses a special fluid in their bodies to float or sink. Ammonium chloride is in their bodies, which is very different from the swim bladders of fish. Ammonium chloride has a lighter density than water, so it will cause the squid to float. Something interesting about ammonium choride is that it does not taste very good to humans, so we tend not to eat giant squids. One of the main predators of the giant squid is the sperm whale, and one very spectacular defense mechanism of the squid is the ink that it can release to distract predators. This is common to all squids. The squid has ink sacs that are found between gills. One way to distract predators is to simply release a patch of ink that clouds up view. Another more clever way is to release ink with more mucus in it, which causes the ink not to disperse so quickly. This patch of ink will then look like a second squid or organism, and while the predator is focused on the ink, the squid has time to jet itself to safety.

The squid lives in deep waters not near the tropical climates and polar climates. It has been found near the coasts of Newfoundland, Norway, and the British Isles. To the south of the Atlantic Ocean, near the south of Africa, sightings have also been recorded.



Architeuthis distribution [Electronic Image]. Retrieved November 11, 2010, from:

The taxonomy of the giant squid is the following:

AnimaliaMollusca Cephalopoda Teuthida Architeuthidae Architeuthis dux

The Legendary Kraken, said to plague the seas with death and destruction. Kraken [Electronic Image]. Retrieved November 11, 2010, from: []

One of the first ways people found out about giant squids was from seeing them washed up on beaches. Giant Squid Washes Up on Tassie Beach [Electronic Image]. Retrieved November 11, 2010, from: []

One of the very first photographs of the giant squid. A camera was attached to a baited line by Dr. Kobudera and his team. Kobudera, T. Giant Squid [Electronic Image]. Retrieved November 11, 2010, from: []

Some footage from the documentary about capturing the first photographs of the giant squid:

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