Request Response: GIANT SQUID

Many of your comments requested more information on different topics. This week I will try and accommodate.

The Giant Squid was VERY popular.

If you didn't tour the whole site by clicking on BIG SQUID in the blog, then here is a short cut: Architeuthis dux and the Search Goes On.

Did you know there is evidence of an even BIGGER invertebrate?

Riddle: What has eight arms and two tentacles, lives in the deep ocean and is bigger than a giant squid? Answer: The Colossal Squid.

The Colossal Squid, Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, is thought to be the largest of the squid species in weight, even exceeding that of the famous Architeuthis dux. This species was first described in 1925 when two arms of the creatures were recovered from the stomach of a sperm whale. After that very little was learned about the Colossal Squid for many years as only a few incomplete or damaged specimens were found.

In 2003 the colossal squid again got the attention of the popular press when a nearly intact specimen was brought up from deep Antarctic waters at a depth of over 6,000 feet. Just three years later another specimen, a female 26 feet in length and weighing 1095 pounds, was captured accidentally by a fishing boat near New Zealand in Antarctic waters. This particular animal is thought to be the largest invertebrate animal ever found.

Both of these large squids are major sources of food for the sperm whale. Scientists estimate the Colossal Squid may make up 77% of the diet by weight of Antarctic sperm whale.

Watch a video as these "Behemoths Battle in the Benthos."

To do a simple experiment to better understand sound and movement
go to The UNMUSEUM .


More about ... Beasties of the Benthos

The term Deep Sea Creatures refers to organisms that live below the photic zone of the ocean. These creatures must survive in extremely harsh conditions; such as hundreds of atmospheres of pressure, small amounts of oxygen, very little food, no sunlight, and constant, extreme cold. Most creatures have to depend on food floating down from above. Benthos are the organisms which live on, in, or near the seabed, also known as the benthic zone. They live in or near marine sedimentary environments, from tidal pools along the foreshore, out to the continental shelf, and then down to the abyssal depths.

The Webster's dictionary defines the word monster as "an animal of strange or terrifying shape" and "one unusually large for its kind". By this definition, the creatures that dwell in the deep ocean are true monsters. Miles beneath the surface, where sunlight can no longer penetrate, exists an eerie world of cold darkness. This is the abyss. It is a world of strange and sometimes grotesque forms. Some of the animals here have evolved the ability to create their own light through a phenomenon known as bioluminescence. These lights are used to attract prey and ward off predators. There are organisms here that get their food from chemicals in the water through a process known as chemosynthesis. This is a realm of extremes containing creatures of gigantic proportions. This is where the elusive giant squid hunts. It is also where the great sperm whale comes to feed on the giant squid. Here, within the waters of our own planet, lies an alien planet of wonders that we are just now beginning to explore.
(http://www.seasky.org/deep-sea/deep-sea-intro.html )

DIVE IN HERE (Hold on it's a little bit spooky)

What do you think?

What else could there be that we haven't discovered ? ( we've explored about 4% of the ocean's benthic region.)

How does what we learn about life in the ocean depths help our understanding of the world around us?

What more would you like to learn?




The Comments box is always open ... (Remember just your First Name and class color please)