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The giant squid (Architeuthis dux, pictured) was for a long time thought to be the largest extant cephalopod. It is now known that the colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) attains an even greater maximum size. The giant squid seen here measured 9.24 m (30.3 ft) in total length and had a mantle length of 1.79 m (5.9 ft).
The dramatization of an underwater encounter between the sperm whale and giant squid, from a diorama in the Hall of Ocean Life at the American Museum of Natural History. Recent studies have shown giant squid feed on deep-sea fish, such as the orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus), and other squid species.
Size comparison with a human. Unlike most squid species, the colossal squid exhibits abyssal gigantism, as it is the heaviest living invertebrate species, reaching weights up to 495 kg (1,091 lb). [3] For comparison, squids typically have a mantle length of about 30 cm (12 in) and weigh about 100–200 g (3 + 1 ⁄ 2 –7 oz). [10]
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]
A piece of sperm whale skin with giant squid sucker scars. Sperm whales usually dive between 300 and 800 metres (980 and 2,620 ft), and sometimes 1 to 2 kilometres (3,300 to 6,600 ft), in search of food. [157] Such dives can last more than an hour. [157]
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 following are two lists of animals ordered by the size of their nervous system. ... Common house gecko: 3,988,000 [34] ... Pygmy sperm whale: 2,020,000,000*
Upon seeing the whale as a potential predator, the squid releases a burst of ink as a warning, but she is ignored by the whale, which launches a slow attack on the huge squid. Just before she reaches the mouth, the squid latches onto the whale and rakes him with her hooked suction cups, wounding him in the process. By rising close to the ...