![]() When that happens, the mom-to-be pulls them out of storage (though we’re not sure how). But biologists suspect that males use their sex organs like syringes, injecting sperm into a female’s skin, where she stores the cells until her eggs need fertilizing. ![]() Nobody has ever documented a pair of giant squid getting busy. Architeuthis penises are about a yard long. Like all squids, giant squids have three hearts.Ī median heart pumps oxygenated blood throughout the body, which it receives from two smaller ones that pump blood through the gills. When hordes of giant squid attack, the narrator, a French professor named Pierre Arronax, estimates that each one must weigh “between four and five thousand pounds.” But as far as modern scientists can tell, the heaviest animals weigh around a ton-although most are less than 1000 pounds. But there are still a few gaffes to be found, particularly during the book’s most iconic scene. Jules Verne’s 1869 masterpiece remains impressive today: his novel predicted the invention of both scuba tanks and taser guns. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea grossly overestimates the giant squid’s usual weight. Many believe that this predator’s writhing, snake-like limbs have long inspired sea serpent yarns. Apparently, Herman Melville wasn’t a fan-Ishmael describes the squid as a “vast, pulpy mass” complete with “innumerable long arms radiating from its center, curling and twisting like a nest of anacondas.” But Melville wasn't alone. In one of Moby-Dick’s more memorable chapters, an Architeuthis slithers towards Captain Ahab’s whaleboat. Giant squid may have helped give rise to sea serpent legends. ![]() That’s 131 million giant squid killed annually. Should Architeuthis represent even 1 percent of their diet, then the whales eat 3.6 million daily. Every single day, male whales put away 300 to 400 squid of various species, while females consume an outrageous 700 to 800 squid. So, if every sperm whale on Earth devoured an average of one giant squid per month, that means 4.3 million would be offed annually.īut some experts think this figure is way too low. Approximately 360,000 of these mammals swim the oceans. The squid regularly show up inside sperm whale stomachs. An estimated 4.3 to 131 million get eaten by sperm whales each year. According to a study of the specimen in the Canadian Journal of Zoology, "the regenerated club differed in length and width, and in the size and pattern of suckers, when compared with the normal tentacular arm." Many cephalopods besides squid are capable of this feat, including octopuses. One giant squid corpse found in Canada in 1968 had a partially regenerated tentacle. “How can something be global but have so little variation?” Other researchers, however, argue that there may be as many as eight Architeuthis species out there. “It’s completely bizarre,” geneticist Thomas Gilbert said. The giant squid gene pool seemed abnormally shallow-all 43 subjects were pretty much indistinguishable in this regard. There may be just one known species.Ī genetic analysis in 2013 suggested that Architeuthis duxis the only species of giant squid, as revealed by a comparison of 43 specimens from around the world. This organ rests inside their beaks and is covered with seven rows of denticles-sharp, toothy, backwards-pointing protrusions. Instead of a proper tongue, they use a radula. Reports of 60- and 70-footers have never been verified scientifically. 4.The giant squid’s maximum length is about 43 feet.Īt least, that’s what the available evidence tells us. While under attack, the squid often retaliate by inflicting large, circular wounds, courtesy of the serrated rings around each sucker. The giant squid's main enemy is the sperm whale. Giant squid suckers can leave ugly battle scars. On average, female giant squid are around twice the size of males from the tip of their beaks to the ends of their two longest tentacles. Female giant squid are bigger than males. It's like a collapsed plastic bag,” biologist Dan-Eric Nilsson told NPR in 2012. Instead, they’re filled with water, which leaks out once the invertebrate dies. Smithsonian Institution, Wikimedia Commons // Public DomainĪ staggering 10.5 inches across, a squid’s eyeballs lack the jelly-like substance that gives ours their shape.
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