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Posted: 22-03-2002 07:36 Post subject: Giant Squid

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.

Posted: 22-03-2002 10:46 Post subject:

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.

Posted: 22-03-2002 11:15 Post subject:

Wow, this is really cool. Let's catch some eggs and breed them Smile

However, is there anything that speaks against a small but very fertile squid?

Posted: 22-03-2002 11:38 Post subject:

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 Smile

. To have seen a giant squid (not that I suppose they are common in the Carribbean Sad

) or a large shark would have been cool.

Posted: 22-03-2002 11:56 Post subject:

Posted: 22-03-2002 14:19 Post subject: 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.

Posted: 22-07-2002 13:55 Post subject: 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

Posted: 23-07-2002 00:06 Post subject:

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

Posted: 01-08-2002 09:55 Post subject:

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!

Posted: 01-08-2002 11:21 Post subject:

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.

Posted: 02-08-2002 12:48 Post subject: 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.

Posted: 02-08-2002 18:39 Post subject:

i saw this picture too (i don't read the mail btw roll eyes (sarcastic)

- 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 Very Happy

)

Posted: 02-08-2002 18:51 Post subject:

I'm bummed... I thought you had that pic-- I can't track it down either.
Sad

Posted: 02-08-2002 19:30 Post subject:

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.

Posted: 02-08-2002 20:29 Post subject:

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 .