Super squid surfaces in Antarctic

BBC News ^ | today | Kim Griggs

[Rodney King]

A colossal squid has been caught in Antarctic waters, the first example of Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni retrieved virtually intact from the surface of the ocean.

"All we knew prior to this specimen coming through was that this animal lived in the abyssal environment down in Antarctica," New Zealand squid expert and senior research fellow at Auckland University of Technology, Dr Steve O'Shea, told BBC News Online. "Now we know that it is moving right through the water column, right up to the very surface and it grows to a spectacular size." Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni was first identified in 1925 after two arms were recovered from a sperm whale's stomach.

There have only ever been six specimens of this squid recovered: five have come from the stomachs of sperm whales and the sixth was caught in a trawl net at a depth of 2,000 to 2,200 metres.

"It's been known since 1925, but no one really paid any attention to it," Dr O'Shea said. "Now we can say that it attains a size larger than the giant squid. Giant squid is no longer the largest squid that's out there. We've got something that's even larger, and not just larger but an order of magnitude meaner."

This squid has one of the largest beaks known of any squid and also has unique swivelling hooks on the clubs at the ends of its tentacles.

This combination allows it to attack fish as large as the Patagonian toothfish and probably to also attempt to maul sperm whales.

"When this animal was alive, it really has to be one of the most frightening predators out there. It's without parallel in the oceans," Dr O'Shea said. The specimen, which was caught in the past few weeks in the Ross Sea, has a mantle length of 2.5 metres. That is a larger mantle than any giant squid that Dr O'Shea has seen and this specimen is still immature, the NZ scientist believes.

"It's only half to two-thirds grown, so it grows up to four metres in mantle length." By comparison, the mantle of the giant squid, Architeuthis dux , is not known to attain more than 2.25 metres.

The squid researchers are calling Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni the "colossal squid".

"We'd like to give this animal the name colossal squid in order to have a common name for it as opposed to just the scientific name," said Kat Bolstad, research associate at Auckland University of Technology. "We feel that colossal conveys both the size and the aggressiveness of the animal.

"This animal, armed as it is with the hooks and the beak that it has, not only is colossal in size but is going to be a phenomenal predator and something you are not going to want to meet in the water."

[tet68]

Any one catch the video of two cuttlefish hunting on the
nature channel, just awesome to watch. They communicated by
changing color, one would distract the prey while the other
came up from a different direction.
A pair of these things would sure be hard to outwit.
(Worse than a pair of Hillery!s) Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek.

Key theme music.
Da dum, Da dum, Da dum...........

[tet68]

in the abyssal environment

Isn't that like the backed up bathroom in Saddams Bunker# 2?

[Thinkin' Gal]

[tet68]

Is that guy giving it a massage?


"Turn your tentacle and cough please.

Actually he's checking it's prostate.
Squid over a certain age.................prostate exam every year.......

[carlo3b]

Is that guy giving it a massage?

Gives a whole new meaning to "Don't Play with your food"...{{{{SHIVERS}}}}

[Proud_texan]

Calamari? Heck, looks like those shrimp down on the Gulf out by the nuke outflow.

I wonder what it takes to be a squid expert? I mean do you have to take a test or is there some sort of license you apply for?

It'd be cool if being an expert came with an offical squid expert badge. You could flip that guy out and really impress people.

[carlo3b]

Turn your tentacle and cough please.

The republic must be safe and calm tonight, our Freeper minds are wandering a bit....Bhwhhahahahahahahhahahhahahaha

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Has anyone seen Helen Thomas lately?

[Redcloak]

In Texas, you need a license to be a Squid Engineer.

[VMI70]

"...sixth was caught in a trawl net at a depth of 2,000 to 2,200 metres".

What kind of fish do you catch at 6,500-7,200 feet, besides Colossal squid?

[VMI70]

That is exactly why I haven't had a physical since I was 40. That was my first and last prostate exam.

[Noumenon]

I think you're gonna need a bigger boat!

Not to mention mass quantities of soy sauce and wasabi...

[Michael121]

Actually Megalodon the Great White daddy who could eat blue whales for lunch and teeth one of which I have is bigger than my whole hand was the meanest of the sea. This squid would have been a snack. The Giant Squids have only been caught dead already. There was a research ship with deep water subs hunting for them to catch one on film. 5 were brought in dead during the filming of the documentary. They got lots of them in the freezer but never one alive and squishy.

[Noumenon]

squid warning! do not swim below 2000 metres!

So much for that Marianas Trench vaction I was planning.

[rdax]

What kind of fish do you catch at 6,500-7,200 feet, besides Colossal squid

Apparently sperm whales, smaller giant squids and London buses.

[Centurion2000]

1) Does it reek like ammonia when it was caught ? (Giant squids do)

2) Rodney King: Can you get along with it ??

[VMI70]

LOL

I was going to add submarines, but that's way too deep for them.

[driftless]

In a related story a land cousin of the recently caught giant squid has surfaced in England. This "land" squid (Slimus Arnettus) is somewhat smaller and fatter than the Antarctic squid and is much slimier. This slimy "land" squid is also a nomad having traversed the globe from New Zealand and America and recently has been sighted in Great Britain.

[Ichneumon]

It's also refreshing to hear scientists finally admit they don't know it all better. They'd like you to believe they have a monopoly on knowledge and their opinions are infallibly god breathed.

Your statement says far more about your prejudices than it does about anything that scientists have actually said.

But just for giggles, feel free to try to support your claims that scientists "would like you to believe they have a monopoly on knowledge" and "their opinions are infallibly god breathed", by quoting some to that effect, if you think y ou can. We'll wait.