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A dramatisation of an underwater encounter between the sperm whale and giant squid, from a diorama at the American Museum of Natural History. More extreme and outlandish giant squid size claims—belonging firmly in the realm of cryptozoology—have appeared in the works of authors such as Bernard Heuvelmans, Willy Ley, and Ivan T. Sanderson. [126]
The giant squid also exhibits abyssal gigantism, but the colossal squid is heavier. [29] Although it is unclear what the maximum weight for colossal squids is, analysis of squid beak dimensions from sperm whale stomachs provided estimates that colossal squids may weigh up to 700 kg or 1,500 lb. [5] [6]
The known predators of adult giant squid include sperm whales, pilot whales, [35] [36] southern sleeper sharks, [37] and in some regions killer whales. [38] Juveniles may fall prey to other large deep sea predators. Because sperm whales are skilled at locating giant squid, scientists have tried to observe them to study the squid.
Apart from two partial specimens (#2 and 3) recovered from sperm whale stomachs in the mid-1950s—initially misidentified as belonging to the giant squid genus, Architeuthis [2] —and a single juvenile individual of 86 mm (3.4 in) mantle length , [3] little else was known about the species until additional specimens began receiving coverage ...
The giant squid nevertheless remains a rarely encountered animal, especially considering its wide distribution and large size, [60] with Richard Ellis writing that "each giant squid that washes up or is taken from the stomach of a sperm whale is still an occasion for a teuthological celebration". [61]
Marine Patch says that they can dive 2,000 meters, or about 6,200 feet for up to two hours while hunting giant squid, sharks, skates, and fish. "Squid just so happens to be the sperm whales ...
The sperm whale brain is the largest known of any modern or extinct animal, weighing on average about 7.8 kilograms (17 lb) [61] [62] (with the smallest known weighing 6.4 kilograms (14 lb) and the largest known weighing 9.2 kilograms (20 lb)), [44] [45] more than five times heavier than a human brain, and has a volume of about 8,000 cm 3. [63]
The egg size can range from 0.75 to 0.9 mm, and the hatchling size has a mantle length of approximately 1.0 mm. [6] Purpleback squids are among the fastest-growing squid species, as the daily increase of overall length in the dwarf and middle-sized forms is about 1.0 mm; for the giant form, it is about 3.8 mm. [ 6 ]