Posted on 04/05/2003 4:45:39 AM PST by chance33_98
Rare Colossal Squid Found Near Antarctica
Only One Other Squid Has Ever Been Found
Posted: 5:14 p.m. EST April 3, 2003 Updated: 6:24 p.m. EST April 3, 2003
A rare and dangerous squid with eyes the size of dinner plates and scores of razor-sharp hooks to snag its prey has been caught by fishermen in the Ross Sea in Antarctica, according to a Local 6 News report.
The half-grown female colossal squid is only the second intact example of the monster cephalopod known to have been found, said marine biologist Steve O'Shea of New Zealand's national museum on Thursday.
A trawler caught the 330-lb squid about 2,200 miles south of Wellington.
The squid was dead when it was hauled into the trawler and the remains are now in the New Zealand national museum.
The body of the colossal squid is much bigger than the giant squid, which can weigh up 2,000 lbs when fully grown.
Comparisons are difficult because of the colossal squid's hostile environment and rarity.
Five of the six previous discoveries have only been pieces inside sperm whale stomachs.
American marine biologist Kat Bolstad said the colossal squid was a more dangerous animal than the giant quid, the mythical monster of the deep that attacked Captain Nemo's Nautilus in Jules Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.”
The colossal squid finds food by literally glowing in dark, deep waters to light up prey for its massive eyes -- the biggest of any animal.
But it is the colossal squid's weaponry that marks it out from its giant cousin.
Its eight arms and two tentacles have up to 25 teeth-like hooks -- deeply rooted into muscle and able to rotate 360 degrees -- as well as the usual suckers to ensure fish do not escape.
The hooks not only hold fish for the squid's two parrot-like beaks, but they are also used to fend off attacks from hungry sperm whales.
The species, whose scientific name is mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, was previously thought to have lurked at least a half a mile down in the freezing waters near Antarctica.
Its discovery has raised questions about what else lives down deep in the ocean.
40ft tentacles! Where did they find a table long enough to lay out that monster?
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