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Giant Squid (Architeuthis)

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discovered off the coast of new zealand article first
link
pic is here
http://www.wadedoak.com/bulletin.htm


text from first link

Photo excites marine scientists on trail of giant squid

22.03.2002 12.05 pm

An underwater photo taken in New Zealand waters may be the first glimpse by humans of the egg mass of the elusive giant squid.

Marine biologist Dr Steve O'Shea said a photograph of a gelatinous sphere, 2m in diameter, in the waters off Northland's Poor Knights Islands was the first visual evidence of such an egg mass he had seen.

"It's the first photo of such a squid egg mass known, from New Zealand waters at least."

Dr O'Shea, of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa), is an expert on giant squid. He had just finished work on the world's largest invertebrate for a Discovery documentary that screened recently: Chasing Giants: On the Trail of the Giant Squid.

His attention was drawn to the photo, taken by photojournalist Jan Enderby, on the website of marine researcher Wade Doak, of Tutukaka in Northland. He promptly notified the Discovery channel of the photo.

Mr Doak said they had originally thought the sphere was a salp -- a large jellyfish -- though it did not have all the salp's characteristics. He heard Dr O'Shea being interviewed on radio, put two and two together and contacted him.

"Of all the things left on the earth the giant squid is the Holy Grail," Mr Doak said this week.

"We know it exists but can't get to it. Next to the dinosaur it must be the next prize."

Dr O'Shea said his research had painted a hypothetical picture of such an egg mass and its travels with the currents before hundreds of thousands of larvae were released, but he had never actually seen one.

"It was exactly like the egg mass we proposed for the study."

He could not say what type of squid were in the egg mass, photographed during the breeding period, but because it matched his hypothesis so closely it could be one of the seven known types of giant squid.

"The odds are against it being giant squid but the size of the egg mass is consistent with it," Dr O'Shea said.

In February this year, NIWA scientists became the first in the world to capture live specimens of the giant squid. The seven juvenile specimens, around a week old, measured just 9-13mm in length. They died after 30 days in captivity.

While fewer than 100 adult specimens have been recorded around the world, all dead in nets or washed ashore, 70 of them have been in New Zealand waters within the last six years.

Mr Doak said there were two populations of giant squid in New Zealand, one at the Chatham Rise from December to early March and the other off the South Island's West Coast from June to August.

"There are two hatching areas around New Zealand -- one is off the West Coast of the South Island in the Hokitika Canyon, where they are spawning in June and July," he said.

"The other is on the other side of the South Island, off Banks Peninsula, where they are spawning in January and February."


second link text
FROM STEVE O'SHEA, NIWA SCIENTIST WORKING ON GIANT SQUID.
Wade, thanks ever so much for drawing that to my attention!!!!! Bloody marvellous web page by the way.

Yes, what you have is the egg mass of some pelagic squid
species - but just don't ask me what one!!!!!!
IT IS, WITHOUT A DOUBT, ONE OF THE MOST SENSATIONAL
IMAGES I HAVE EVER SEEN!!!!!!!
I have referred your page to Discovery Channel.
There's a documentary due out mid-March where I hypothesise the egg mass of giant squid looks exactly as this photograph depicts.
 
Damn that's big.....

I've got high hopes for photos/footage of a giant squid in the next couple of years, we seem to be inching closer all the time.
 
Wow, this is really cool. Let's catch some eggs and breed them :)

However, is there anything that speaks against a small but very fertile squid?
 
I so much want to see a documentry which actually has images of a giant squid - I get so frustrated with all those docs with titles such as "In search of the giant squid" etc and they show nothing! Annoying.

When I scuba dived, we used to go to a wall where you would float at 130ft and look down into the depths. The things I imagined swimming down there :). To have seen a giant squid (not that I suppose they are common in the Carribbean :( ) or a large shark would have been cool.
 
ninja said:
I so much want to see a documentry which actually has images of a giant squid - I get so frustrated with all those docs with titles such as "In search of the giant squid" etc and they show nothing! Annoying.

Their great aren't they, I've been thinking of making one myself:
Preamble - shots of journey to far flung island - 'expert' talking about dead squid - shot on boat - 1st dive - 'expert' - next dive - nice footage of fish or whales - 'expert' talking about fish/whales - boat "This is the best chance of getting to see a giant squid" - dive - on boat "the weather is changing" - rest of dives called of due to approaching storm system - experts - roll credits

When I scuba dived, we used to go to a wall where you would float at 130ft and look down into the depths. The things I imagined swimming down there :). To have seen a giant squid (not that I suppose they are common in the Carribbean :( ) or a large shark would have been cool.



Tell you what, I'll stay on the boat and you can dive, even big fish scare the willies out of me :D
 
Not long now...

I have always had an extraordinary interest in Architeuthis, but when I saw that pic it made me a little sad.

Believe me, I want to see video/pics of the beast, but also know that that will herald the beginning of the end for the animal. We shall lose the Kraken and gain an endangered species.
 
Giant squid washes up on Australian beach

Reuters UK

Giant squid washes up on Australian beach
Mon Jul 22, 7:02 AM ET

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A giant squid with tentacles measuring at least 15 metres (yards) has washed up on a southern Australian beach, exciting scientists who believe they may have stumbled across a new species.



The monster cephalopod washed up on Seven Mile Beach in the southern island state of Tasmania some time over the weekend. The squid, which weighs about 250 kg (550 pounds), was hauled by trailer to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery on Monday.

"It's definitely of the giant squid group, which is exciting enough," David Pemberton, the museum's senior zoology curator, told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio.

"But it does have some features about it which we're unsure about and we've called some specialists...to help decide, but it looks like it could be different," he said.

Pemberton said the most intriguing features were long, thin flaps of muscle attached to each of the eight tentacles, which measured between 15 metres and 18 metres. Giant squid also have two smaller feeding tentacles.

Only two other of the rare giant squid have been found in Tasmania, in 1986 and 1991. They usually live on the edge of the continental shelf off Australia's coast at depths of at least 500 metres.

Giant squid are found in all the oceans of the world and are believed to be the origin of many ancient maritime legends about mysterious creatures from the deep.

They have also featured in great works of fiction like Herman Melville's "Moby Dick" and Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea".

But Pemberton said there was no chance of the Tasmanian discovery ending up as a massive serving of calamari because its high ammonia content meant it would most likely taste like floor cleaner.

-FYI
 
Yeah, saw the report on the box last night. It looked as though the squid was in better shape than most beach-washed carcasses. A museum rep. was talking about preserving it in ethanol. Now that's one large vat of alcohol - what a waste! :p
 
Giant squid now take up more space on Earth than humans which should mean that more are washed up. The largest squid ever found was 55 bloody feet long. That's a lot of calamari!
 
The sea really fascinates me. To think of all those huge creatures living down there that we don't know anything about yet. I watched a David Attenborough prog about the sea once where they filmed lower than anyone had before and the creatures were unbelievable. They were far more fantastical than some of the aliens dreamt up for films!
Squid are nasty things too, with those hard beaks, very dangerous.
 
Giant Squid alive picture

Anybody know if there has ever been a giant squid photographed alive and eating anything.

Only reason I asked was there was a pic in the Daily Mail that was shown to me (dated Thur, Aug 1, 2002 p. 27).

I haven't a scanner to scan it in so if anybody has it may be interesting. Looking at it the caption says it is eating a shark! Looks more like a Tuna to me from the tail. It hasn't got the long tentacles - though that may be due to the cropping in publication.
 
i saw this picture too (i don't read the mail btw :rolleyes: - it was left behind in a café). If it says it's a squid live photo then it probably is (yeah right - i don't believe ANYTHING journalists say anymore :D )
 
I'm bummed... I thought you had that pic-- I can't track it down either.
:(
 
Its def. a live squid - just don't think its a giant squid (Architeuthis dux). The tail of the fish in its tentacles looked more like a tuna tail. Jounalistic license? Be great if they had scooped the first piccie of a live Architeuthis dux and never realised it.
 
I'm sure I read earlier today that giant squid are on the increase due to global warming - now I can't find the story in the paper , I even fished some old ones out of the wheelie bin . Must have dreamed it LOL .
 
Dun-Dun Dun-Dun Dun-Dun Dun-Dun Dun-Dun DUN Dun Dun-Dun DUN.

Didn't see the photo, but tuna can be a pretty impressive size fish with almost armour like scales. I'd be damn flabbergasted if I saw a squid eating one!!!

Incidentally, I was sent an e-mail with an attached picture of a shark attack taken near the South African coast during a military exercise by the British Navy. It was touted as being genuine and had been nominated by the National Geographic as "The Photo of the Year".

After finding this website, I think we can assume (I hope) it's a fake… Cant we?

http://www.wavescape.co.za/top_bar/tidings/Sharks/street_shark2.html
 
"This sequence of a Great White catching prey in False Bay, Cape Town, dispels the myth that Great Whites don't jump out of the water.

PLEASE NOTE: Surfing is safe in South Africa. Great Whites generally stick to deep water. There is also plenty of prey in the form of seals, which number in the hundreds of thousands
in the waters off the Cape. The number of shark attacks are relatively rare. You have far more chance of dying in a plane crash, so don't get all woesie about going surfing."

My housemate nearly lost a foot to a Great White off of SA, so dont believe everything you read on websites. South Africa has one of the worst records for Shark attacks in the world, but its all part of the fun hay?
 
giant squids

Yeh, we own those helios -an much more...If a giant squid that those sperm whales like to dine on was found intact and a-live on film ---don't worry, it'll be all over the news..
 
Re: Dun-Dun Dun-Dun Dun-Dun Dun-Dun Dun-Dun DUN Dun Dun-Dun

Curzone said:
Incidentally, I was sent an e-mail with an attached picture of a shark attack taken near the South African coast during a military exercise by the British Navy. It was touted as being genuine and had been nominated by the National Geographic as "The Photo of the Year".

After finding this website, I think we can assume (I hope) it's a fake… Cant we?

http://www.wavescape.co.za/top_bar/tidings/Sharks/street_shark2.html

Definite fake. This site has the 2 original photos.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/shark.htm
 
Giant Squid Washed Up

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=573&ncid=757&e=9&u=/nm/20020829/od_nm/squid_dc_1

Giant Squid Washes Up on Portuguese Beach
Thu Aug 29, 9:21 AM ET

LISBON (Reuters) - A giant squid has washed up on a Portuguese beach, a rare occurrence for the deep-water creature, a museum spokeswoman said on Thursday.



Bathers found the dead 21.5-foot-long animal on Wednesday on a beach near Melides, about 50 miles south of Lisbon, a spokeswoman for the Oceanographic Museum of Portinho da Arrabida said.

Nature reserve workers transported the 110-pound cephalopod to the museum, she said. It has been frozen awaiting examination and classification.

Giant squid normally live at depths of 1,600 to 3,300 feet, and usually sink when they die.

A giant squid with tentacles measuring at least 15 yards in length washed up on an Australian beach in July.
 
but did it rinse the suds off the cups?
I think not.
little cups, giant hands. got to be tricky.
 
giant squids

dont u mean fairy washing up liqid (c,r,tm )
 
Giant Squid grabs race yacht

Story here:
Jan. 16 — A French yacht taking part in the Jules Verne round-the-world sailing trophy was gripped by a giant squid for about an hour in the mid-Atlantic, its skipper announced by radio-link.

Veteran yachtsman Oliver de Kersauson, at the helm of the trimaran Geronimo, said the three-hulled boat was hit by strange vibrations on Sunday, so he sent a crew member below deck to try to identify what was wrong.

"Suddenly he saw something moving," de Kersauson said. "It was tentacles.
"The squid was pulling really hard, so we put the boat about and when we came to a stop the tentacles let go. We saw it behind the boat, and it was enormous. I have been sailing for 40 years, and I have never seen the like," he said.

Crew member Didier Ragault, who spotted the creature through a port-hole said "the tentacles were as thick as my arm wearing an oil-skin, and I immediately thought of the damage it could do.

"When we saw it behind the boat it must have been seven, eight or nine meters long (ca. 26 feet)," he said.

The giant squid, Architeuthis dux, is the world's largest invertebrate. Although historical records say the animal can reach 18 meters (60 feet) in length and weigh a ton, giant squid expert Steve O'Shea says the biggest squid in the 70 he's seen so far was 40 feet long and weighed about 660 pounds.

The giant squid is also highly elusive, living in very deep water. Only about 250 sightings have been officially recorded — most of them of dead animals on beaches.

The creature used to feature in numerous maritime stories and legends about attacks on ships, notably in Verne's own 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.

That's exactly why O'Shea thinks the sailors are having a little fun with the media.

"I am afraid I simply do not believe this story," O'Shea told Discovery News. "The animal resides at great depth. Something latched on to their boat, or got lodged against the rudder perhaps."

O'Shea said: "Whatever it was it was NOT a live giant squid."
So here we have an 'expert' who wasn't there dissing the word of those who were.

But there is a way confirmation could be gained: race yachts like these carry satnav gear which reports their positions to race control. If the reports do show that the boat was near stationary for an hour at the time the crew said, this would be strong evidence in their favour. (No race crew would willingly stop racing just to perpetrate a hoax.) Let's hope someone on board took pics or video.
 
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