Everything about The Colossal Squid totally explained
The
Colossal Squid (
Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, from
Greek mesos (middle),
onychos (claw), and
teuthis (squid)), sometimes called the
Antarctic or
Giant Cranch Squid, is believed to be the
largest squid species. It is the only known member of the
genus Mesonychoteuthis. Though it's known from only a few specimens, current estimates put its average size at 12–14 metres (39–46 feet) long, based on analysis of smaller and immature specimens, making it the largest known
invertebrate.
Anatomy and morphology
Unlike the
giant squid, whose arms and
tentacles only have suckers lined with small teeth, the Colossal Squid's arms and tentacles are also equipped with sharp hooks: some swiveling, others three-pointed. Its body is wider and stouter, and therefore heavier, than that of the giant squid. Colossal Squids are believed to have a longer
mantle than giant squids, although their tentacles are shorter.
The squid exhibits
deep-sea gigantism. The beak of
Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni is the largest known of any squid, exceeding that of
Architeuthis (giant squid) in size and robustness. The Colossal Squid is also believed to have the largest eyes in the animal kingdom. Many other animals also feed on this squid, including the
beaked whales (such as the
bottlenose whales),
pilot whale,
southern elephant seal,
Patagonian toothfish,
Pacific sleeper shark, and
albatross (for example, the
Wandering and
Sooty albatrosses). However, beaks from mature adults have only been recovered from those animals large enough to take such prey (for example, the sperm whale and
Pacific sleeper shark), while the remaining predators are limited to eating juveniles or young adults.
Timeline
- 1925 – Species was first discovered in the form of two tentacles found in the stomach of a sperm whale.
- 1981 – A Russian trawler in the Ross Sea, off the coast of Antarctica, caught a large squid with a total length of 4 metres (13 feet), which was later identified as an immature female of Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni.
- 2003 – A complete specimen of a subadult female (photo at right) was found near the surface with a total length of 6 m (20 ft) and a mantle length of 2.5 m (8 ft).
- 2005 – A specimen was captured at a depth of 1625 m while taking a toothfish from a longline off South Georgia Island. Although the mantle wasn't brought aboard, the mantle length was estimated at over 2.5 m, and the tentacles measured 230 cm. The animal is thought to have weighed between 150 and 200 kg.
- 2007 – The largest ever specimen, measuring 10 m (33 ft) in length, was captured by a New Zealand fishing boat off Antarctica. It was initially estimated to weigh 450 kg (992 lb). The squid was taken back to New Zealand for scientific study. A study on the specimen later showed that its actual weight was 495 kg (1,091 lb). Scientists at New Zealand's national museum, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa), were at one time considering using an industrial microwave oven to defrost the animal but have since opted for the more conventional approach of thawing the squid in a bath of salt water.
Largest known specimen
On
February 22,
2007, it was announced by authorities in
New Zealand that the largest known Colossal Squid had been captured. The specimen measured 4.2 metres in length and weighed 495 kg (1,091 lb). Fishermen on the vessel
San Aspiring, owned by the Sanford seafood company, caught the animal in the freezing Antarctic waters of the
Ross Sea. It was brought to the surface as it fed on an
Antarctic toothfish that had been caught off a
long line. It wouldn't let go of its prey and couldn't be removed from the line by the fishermen, so they decided to catch it instead. They managed to envelop it in a net, hauled it aboard and froze it. The specimen eclipsed the previous largest find in 2003 by about 195 kilograms (430 lb). The 4.2 metre squid is still considerably shorter than some estimates have predicted. The specimen was frozen in a cubic metre of water and transported to the
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, New Zealand's national museum. Scientists at the museum were considering using a giant microwave to defrost the squid because defrosting the squid at room temperatures would take days and it would be likely for the outside to rot while the core remains frozen. However, they later opted for the more conventional approach of thawing the squid in a bath of salt water. Although initially thought to be a male, dissection of the specimen showed it to be a female.
Defrosting and dissection, April-May 2008
Thawing and dissection of the specimen took place at the
Te Papa museum suggesting there are Colossal Squid much larger than this one. These measurements are of the partly collapsed specimen: when living the eye was probably 30
Dissection of the specimen revealed ovaries containing thousands of eggs.
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