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Colossal Squid

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Giant squid old pat, say hello to Collossal Squid!

collossal squid

Super squid surfaces in Antarctic

By Kim Griggs
in Wellington


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

It really has to be one of the most frightening predators out there

Dr Steve O'Shea
"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 though 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.

Lethal hooks

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.

SQUID: SIZE COMPARISON

Scientists admit they know little about the large squid
"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.

Bigger still

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


'Colossal' squid has a powerful beak


Enlarge image

"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.

Common name

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


The specimen is a juvenile


Enlarge image

"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."
Click to expand...

What's the next size up then, Ludicrous Squid maybe ?
 
oops sorry IJ saw I got space balls joke badly wrong and edited b4 seeing yours. doh
 
They've known about it since the 20's - nobody told me! Not going diving down there then.
 
Shouldn't worry about it. No-one's seen a live one yet. The chances of you running across one while skin diving are pretty slim. Of course, if you did, you'd be famous. Provided you survive the encounter.
 
Read all about it! Local man eaten by Sodding Great Squid!
 
Lend us a squid?

(No, not that one, that one!)

(Oops, sorry, fishy critter, not green paper, always had a problem with that... ;) )

How about Terasquid - 'twould terafy me...

(OK, coat time....)
 
Is that a squid in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?
 
You can always say that no one has seen a live one but you can also say that no one who has seen a live one HAS LIVED TO TELL THE TALE!!!! *cue dramatic music*

Sorry, I was bored. :p
 
Cthulhu fhtagn!

favourite quote:

"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"

Read: its not just big, its hardcore.

gibber...
 
Re: Cthulhu fhtagn!

Cern said:
You can always say that no one has seen a live one but you can also say that no one who has seen a live one HAS LIVED TO TELL THE TALE!!!! *cue dramatic music*

Sorry, I was bored. :p
Click to expand...
This is true. You could also say that no-one who has seen one, snd lieved to tell the tale has recognised the full implication of what they have seen...

The Yitthian said:
favourite quote:

"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"

Read: its not just big, its hardcore.

gibber...
Click to expand...
Hmm, now wheres that's map of sunken R'yleh?

[ACCENT=BAD COCKNEY]Wicked. Giant Squid goin' Large. That's hardcore![/ACCENT]
 
Don't forget cephalopods are quite intelligent too. Stephen Baxter had them piloting space craft. :eek!!!!:
 
Of course, they need all the extra arms to operate the controls.
 
I wish I had ten arms; I might be able to type at a reasonable speed, 'cos I'd have the use of ten fingers like everyone else...
 
Tentacles & Penguins (say the bells of St. Clements)

Keeping in the Cryptozoological bracket, and now i'm thinking along Lovecraftian lines, does anyone have any information on giant albino penguins?? I had always presumed, perhaps mistakenly, that all species were susceptible to Albinsim but survivng specimens were comparatively rare as few creatures can survive in the wild when they stand out so markedly. Perhaps, therefore, penguins are at an advantage as their environment is white with snow. i suppose by 'giant' i just mean a large species like the Emperor - Just a thought!
 
Attack of the Giant Albino Penguins!

Giant Albino Penguins versus Sodding Great Squid!

Giant Albino Penguins Ride Again!

Gia...yes, yes. You get the idea.
 
I suppose if birds are susceptible to albinism, then penguins must be. Crows are. (I remember the fuss when a white crow was born. There was a sudden rush to film Gormenghast.) It is pretty rare in most species though.

Also, it would be difficult for your typical wildlife photographer to see one. If they did, I expect it would be in magazines all over the world, including FT.
 
Call that a Giant Squid?

Could it sink an Aircraft Carrier? Could it trash Tokyo? Would it stand a chance against Godzilla?


No.

'Giant' squid are poxy. Even this 'Collossal' squid is too bloody small. Chuck it back.
 
That's not a giant squid...this is a giant squid...' Fwopp.
 
Ooh, I want some of these beasties.

They'll go great with my secret volcano fortress when I build it.

They should certainly do good job on any meddling secret agents.
 
Is that a secret volcano fortress in your pocket...

Hang on, I did that one, didn't I?
 
Pretty Rare

I know i started the digression in the first place but i just found this story and thought you might be interested: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2572205.stm

Albino penguin 'one-in-a-million'


The albino penguin has a black-and-white brother

A six-week-old albino African penguin chick, hatched at Bristol Zoo, has made its first public appearance.
The chick, named Snowdrop, was born alongside its black-and-white sibling and keepers suspected it was a first among zoos.

They have now searched European records and discovered that albinos are rarely seen in the wild.

The zoo has described the chick as "one-in-a-million".

'Recessive mutation'

Duncan Bolton, curator at Bristol Zoo Gardens, said: "I contacted my colleagues in South Africa to find out just how unusual Snowdrop is.

Our penguin also has pink feet and face and a pale beak as well as white feathers and so is a true albino



Sharon Redrobe, head of veterinary services


"So far they have tracked down only two recorded sightings of albino penguins in the wild."

Sharon Redrobe, the zoo's head of veterinary services, said: "Albino is a simple recessive mutation.

"That means any albino must have received a copy of the mutation from both its father and mother, who may look perfectly normal."

She said the albino penguin had been produced by a rare coincidence of two rare carrier animals breeding together.

Monitor penguins

The albino mutation interferes with the production of melanin so no black pigment is produced.


The six-week-old chick is "fit and healthy"
"That's why an albino has pink eyes," Ms Redrobe explained.

"Our penguin also has pink feet and face and a pale beak as well as white feathers and so is a true albino."

She said the zoo would monitor the penguin for signs of diseases associated with albinism such as skin and eye problems.

But health checks so far have shown Snowdrop is fit and healthy.

Population decline

In the wild, African penguins live in a small area around the coasts of South Africa.

In recent years populations have declined as oil pollution, a reduction of their food supply caused by overfishing and egg collection have threatened breeding colonies.

Bristol Zoo supports African penguin conservation through the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds .

It also contributes to the European co-ordinated conservation breeding programme.
 
Woolly Mammoth Squid?

since this is the, er, sensible end of FTMB I shall refrain from saying "Heres the sick squid I owe you". Yes I shall

It looks like a creature from an adventure movie but this monster from the deep is only a baby.
Fishermen off New Zealand made the extremely rare catch: a colossal squid with eyes as big as dinner plates and razor-sharp hooks on its tentacles.
The 330lb, 16ft immature female mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni was caught on the surface of the Ross Sea, said Auckland University of Technology research fellow Steve O'Shea.

story
here

there was a pic in the paper but not on the site

it looked just like a great big sick squid

and if the Journo eats off of dinner plates that look like this things eyes he either has a Tracy Emmin dinner set or he is on acid
 
Giant squid, bloody hell! Collossal squid aaarrrgh!!!

Is anyone following this. I've been having fantasies about giant squid(in a purely healthy cryptozoological way of course!) for years. It's big it's mean and the only thing that can eat it is a sperm whale. Now they tell us that there has been bits and pieces of another type of squid knocking around for years which noone thought worth mentioning. This one is being called the collossal squid and apperently it makes the giant squid look like a big girls blouse! In fact Oshea(top squidhead) reckons that the giant squid is pretty chilled out, but our new friend is extremely aggressive with rotating weaponry and a penchant for penguins! I eagerly await further developments!
 
Re: Re: Cthulhu fhtagn!

"Hmm, now wheres that's map of sunken R'yleh?"

Sorry, don't know how to do the whole quoting from someone's post thing, but in response to anome's post...

Purely in the interests of wild speculation, I feel I should direct you to the thread in the General Forteana section entitled 'Bad Dreams Lately' (You guesssed it, I don't know how to post links either!).
Lots of discussion about how we'd all been having weird dreams lately, and now this! Perhaps it's lucky my appeal for sculptors compelled to carve bizarre dragon/octopus monster statues drew a blank.
Or maybe I should just eat less cheese before I go to bed.
 
how do squid reproduce? and 'carefully' is really not the answer I'm looking for

I want to grow one in the bath. Normal squid + steroids what the lads who do the doors eat like smarties = Collosal Squid

I shall hire him out to do the doors down the Big Market on match days

he can eat cats. We'll be very happy
 
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