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Giant squid, any member of a genus of large, elusive cephalopods inhabiting deep regions of temperate to subtropical marine waters. Thought to be the largest or second largest living invertebrate, the giant squid has been frequently depicted as a sea monster in literature and by mariners throughout history.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Elusivity
- Massive Eyes
- Diet
- Locomotion
- Range
However, their inhospitable deep-sea habitat has made them uniquely difficult to study, and almost everything scientists know about them is from carcasses that have washed up on beaches or been hauled in by fishermen. Lately, however, the fortunes of scientists studying these elusive creatures have begun to turn. In 2004 researchers in Japan took t...
Giant squid, along with their cousin, the colossal squid, have the largest eyes in the animal kingdom, measuring some 10 inches in diameter. These massive organs allow them to detect objects in the lightless depths where most other animals would see nothing.
Like other squid species, they have eight arms and two longer feeding tentacles that help them bring food to their beak-like mouths. Their diet likely consists of fish, shrimp, and other squid, and some suggest they might even attack and eat small whales.
They maneuver their massive bodies with fins that seem diminutive for their size. They use their funnel as a propulsion system, drawing water into the mantle, or main part of the body, and forcing it out the back.
Scientists don't know enough about these beasts to say for sure what their range is, but giant squid carcasses have been found in all of the world's oceans.
The giant squid (Architeuthis dux) is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae.
- They’re Gigantic. This isn’t just a comment on their impressive size, it’s also a reference to a biological adaptation known as ‘gigantism’. The deep sea isn’t very well studied, but it’s thought that food down there is incredibly scarce.
- They’re enigmatic. This is a bit of an understatement. Until recently there were so few specimens to go on, and what was collected was generally preserved from whale stomachs or what had washed up on beaches.
- They have the longest tentacles of any squid. These make up most of their amazing length, and the tentacles have hundreds of suction cups between 2-5 cm in size.
- Their lifespan is an unknown. It’s thought that they reach sexual maturity around 3 years old, but the top age can’t be determined. Giant squid have a built-in accelerometer that works like your inner ear, in which a mineralised deposit moves around inside a sensory organ to tell it which way up it’s facing.
Jun 26, 2019 · The largest giant squid ever recorded by scientists was almost 43 feet (13 meters) long and may have weighed almost a ton. Where does the giant squid live? Giant squid live deep underwater—in the Twilight Zone—at depths between 1,000 feet and about 2,000 feet.
Giant squid are thought to swim in the ocean worldwide, based on the beaches they've washed upon, as shown in the map (via Wikimedia Commons). However, they're rarely found in tropical and polar areas.
Basic facts about Giant squid: lifespan, distribution and habitat map, lifestyle and social behavior, mating habits, diet and nutrition, population size and status.
