Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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 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.
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".
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]
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]
On November 20, 1820, while at sea in the southern Pacific Ocean under the command of Captain George Pollard Jr., the ship was attacked and sunk by a sperm whale. About 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km) from the coast of South America, the 20-man crew was forced to make for land in three whaleboats with what food and water they could salvage from ...
Taningia danae, the Dana octopus squid, is a species of squid in the family Octopoteuthidae. It is one of the largest known squid species, reaching a mantle length of 1.7 m (5.6 ft) [3] and total length of 2.3 m (7.5 ft). [4] The largest known specimen, a mature female, weighed 161.4 kg (356 lb). [5]
Livyatan is the largest fossil sperm whale discovered, and was also one of the biggest-known predators, having the largest bite of any tetrapod. [1] [8] Diagram comparing the upper and lower size estimates of Livyatan (bottom three) with the size of mature sperm whales, including one of the largest individuals recorded (top three), and a human