Architeuthis is a giant squid that lives in the sea. This sea dweller has been scaring people for many centuries. This deep-sea squid belongs to the Architeuthidae family. Thousands of researchers are willing to give a lot to see it.
There is nothing strange in the fact that scientists around the world are putting an incredible amount of effort into studying this amazing animal. Architeuthis first appeared in photographs in 2004. In the photos that were taken, the large squid was in its normal sphere - water. In the photo taken you can see what it has very incredible sizes.
Places of distribution
Architeuthis, which is very large, lives in the oceans that are scattered throughout the planet. Very often they were found near the British Isles, in the oceans of South Africa, near Norway and Newfoundland . And the biggest ones were noticed near New Zealand, Australia and near the Japanese Islands. Much less common in the tropics and polar regions.
In order for these marine species to feel comfortable, they need places whose depth reaches three hundred meters, or even more; there are cases when the animal was discovered at a depth of a thousand meters.
Diet of deep-sea mollusks
Huge individuals hunt alone. These animals feed mainly on fish and shellfish, which live at great depths in the ocean. It uses its tentacles to catch prey. To swallow the victim, he divides it into small pieces with his teeth and tongue, before grabbing it with his suction cups. Before entering the esophagus, the food falls into the squid's huge beak.
These large animals lead isolated lives. Proof of this is the fishermen who work in different parts planets. They often took architeuthis out of their networks, but always one at a time. More than one large clam never seen in one fishing net.
It would seem that no other animal would hunt such huge squid. But scientists say that the lives of these individuals may be threatened by sperm whales; there are cases when they were hunted by sharks and pilot whales. The young offspring of a huge others don’t mind eating mollusks big fish, but it’s still small. When the offspring grows up, they become very large sizes and instills fear in everyone around him.
Anyone who sees such an animal will be shocked by its size. The length of the largest squid is sixteen and a half meters, this was recorded by scientists. From this we can conclude that the huge squid is one of the largest representatives invertebrates.
It is worth noting that the mantle of females is much larger than that of males. If we take an average, the length of the mantle reaches almost three meters.
Features of anatomy, how many tentacles does a squid have?
The study of such huge animals is very interesting, but at the same time life-threatening. We must not forget that this large animal has:
- mantle;
- eight tentacles:
- two tentacles that are designed for catching prey.
Architeuthis mollusks have the largest tentacles of any cephalopod. The tentacles of this animal make up most of its length.
This is a huge animal may be larger than a sperm whale in size. But it should be taken into account that the sperm whale has a large mass, and the squid is light in weight, thanks to its tentacles. But despite this, there are individuals that weigh several hundred kilograms.
Squid is the largest resident among mollusks in the seas and oceans. On all the tentacles that the squid has, you can see a lot of suckers, which have the shape of a hemisphere. They can have different diameters: from two to six centimeters. With these suction cups the animal captures and holds prey. Very often, large round scars can be seen on the head of a sperm whale, which remain after an attack by a huge mollusk.
Tentacles of the greater Architeuthis are divided into three sections, which have the following names:
- brushes;
- wrist;
- fingers.
The suction cups are placed very tightly on the wrist, there are more than six rows of them. The brushes are located almost at the end of the tentacles. They are much wider than the wrists. There are two rows of suckers on the hand, but they are large.
The beak of the mollusk is in the center of the circle with tentacles. It is very similar to the beak of a parrot.
Also, the squid has fins on its body. Thanks to them, a large animal moves, although they are small. They are located behind the mantle. Like all cephalopods, the squid can move in a reactive manner. This method involves drawing water into the mantle and then releasing it through a siphon. In this way the squid can, move very quickly.
For breathing, gills are used, which are located in the mantle.
The nervous system of Architeuthis is highly organized, and the most complex thing in its body is the brain. It is this area of the body that researchers study very carefully.
A notable distinguishing feature The huge mollusk is considered to have large eyes. They are approximately twenty-seven centimeters, and the pupil is nine. No other animal has such huge eyes. Thanks to such eyes, the squid sees the smallest glow of organisms that are under water. One more interesting fact there is that this marine animal recognizes the color gray.
People do not eat the meat of large squid because it has ammonium chloride in its body, which is why squid have zero buoyancy.
These marine inhabitants navigate very well under water, for this they have special organs called statocysts. These organs contain statoliths, which are used to determine the age of the squid. Statolites played a big role into the study of squid, as they are of great value to scientists. Researchers often extract material for research from the belly of sperm whales, which were lucky enough to swallow a huge squid. In the belly of sperm whales, the beaks of Architeuthis are not digested, thanks to this, scientists have received a lot of useful information.
Dimensions of Architeuthis
As mentioned above, squid is the largest mollusk among the inhabitants of the seas and oceans, which still exists in our time. And once upon a time, many hundreds of years ago, there were mollusks that were much larger in size, but they did not survive to our time.
People who saw such a monster often exaggerated its size, often out of fear. Today there is a lot of information that there are individuals that have a length of up to twenty meters or more, but there is no evidence of this.
Scientists have already studied more than one hundred and thirty species of squid. The results that were obtained and the existing photographs make it possible to conclude that Architeuthis is the largest squid of all existing ones. According to the latest research, you can see that the largest length of the squid's mantle is 22.25 meters, the largest weight is 275 kilograms.
Features of reproduction
Very little is known about the reproduction of huge animals. There are speculations that the squid that reached three years become sexually mature. It is also known that females lay eggs whose length ranges from 0.5 millimeters to 1.4 millimeters, and their width from 0.3 to 0.7 millimeters. How these eggs are fertilized, unknown. But there are guesses that when mating occurs, the male squid moves the reproductive organ out of the mantle and throws out spermatophores.
Very significant research has been carried out on the shores of New Zealand to study young squid, but important information could not be obtained. After this, it was decided to study the large mollusk in special aquariums; this should provide a lot of new and useful information.
The giant squid, also called Architeuthis, is a genus of deep-sea squid that form the distinct family Architeuthidae.
These animals can reach colossal sizes. According to the latest data, the maximum length of the giant squid from the tips of its fins to the ends of its hunting tentacles reaches 16.5 meters. Consequently, the giant squid is one of the largest invertebrates.
The length of the giant squid's mantle is about 2.5 meters. Moreover, in females its length is greater than in males.
If you do not take into account the length of the hunting tentacles, the length of the squid will be about five meters. All available on this moment reports of squids measuring five meters or more in length have not been confirmed by scientific data.
In 2004, researchers from the Whale Watching Association and national museum Japanese scientists, for the first time in the history of studying this species, obtained the first photographs of a living squid living in its natural environment. And in 2006, the same group of researchers recorded the first video of a living giant squid.
Anatomy and morphology of the giant squid
Like all other squid, the giant squid has a mantle, eight tentacles called “arms,” and two hunting tentacles. Moreover, the tentacles of the giant squid are the largest tentacles among all known cephalopods.
It is the tentacles that are the main component of the squid in terms of its enormous length. Considering its enormous size, almost equal to the size of the sperm whale (its main enemy), thanks to its tentacles it is a significantly lighter animal. Individuals whose size and weight have been scientifically documented weigh several hundred kilograms.
The tentacles of the giant squid are covered on the inside with hundreds of hemispherical suckers. The diameter of the suckers ranges from two to six centimeters. On each sucker, along its circumference, there is a sharp jagged ring of chitin. With the help of these suckers, the giant squid both captures and holds its prey. The round scars that such suckers leave on the body are often found on the heads of sperm whales that attacked giant squids.
The giant squid's tentacle can be divided into three regions: the fingers, the hand, and the wrist. On the wrist area, the suction cups are arranged very tightly, in six to seven rows. The hand, like a human's, is wider than the wrist and located closer to the tip of the tentacle. The suction cups on the hand are located more rarely - in two rows. In addition, they are noticeably larger than on the wrist. There are fingers at the ends of the tentacles. The bases of the giant squid's tentacles are arranged in a circle. Like other cephalopods, in the center of this circle there is a beak, very similar to the beak of a parrot.
The small fins that the giant squid use to move around are located at the back of the mantle. Like other cephalopods, the giant squid resorts to a jet mode of movement. To do this, it draws water into the cavity of the mantle and slowly pulsates it through the siphon. If there is such a need, the giant squid can move at fairly high speed, filling the mantle with water and tensing its muscles with force, pushing the water out through the siphon.
To breathe, the giant squid uses a pair of large gills, which are located inside the mantle cavity. It can also release a cloud of dark ink, which it does to scare off predators.
The giant squid's brain is quite complex, and nervous system belongs to the highly organized. Both are the subject of great and close interest from scientists. It is also worth noting another characteristic feature of the giant squid - it has the largest eyes among all living organisms. Their diameter can be 27 centimeters, and the pupil diameter can be 9 centimeters.
Thanks to its huge eyes, the giant squid is able to detect even the faint bioluminescent glow of organisms. The giant squid may not have the ability to distinguish colors, but it is clearly capable of detecting small differences in shades of gray, which is much more important in extremely low light conditions.
Like other types of squid large size, the giant squid has zero buoyancy in seawater. This is achieved due to the fact that the squid’s body contains a solution of ammonium chloride, which is noticeably lighter than water. In comparison, most fish maintain buoyancy using a swim bladder, which is filled with gas. It is largely due to the ammonium chloride content that giant squid meat is not attractive to humans.
This huge mollusk, like all other cephalopods, has special organs - statocysts. With their help, the giant squid navigates in space. Inside the statocysts there are other organs - statoliths. These organs can be used to determine the age of the giant squid, using the same method used to determine the age of trees.
Most of what science knows about the age of these mollusks is obtained precisely from counting such rings, as well as from the undigested beaks of giant squids that were found in the stomachs of sperm whales.
Giant squid dimensions
In terms of the length of its body, the giant squid is the largest mollusk living in our time. In addition, it is one of the largest (in terms of body length) among all living invertebrates. And only nemertean surpasses it in length, though only formally. As for extinct cephalopods, some of them reached even larger sizes. As for its body mass, it is second only to the colossal squid.
It is known that the data on the total length of giant squids that have been discovered have very often turned out to be wildly exaggerated. Data on individuals whose length reached twenty meters or more are quite widespread, but do not have documentary evidence. Presumably, such measurements could be the result of the fact that during their implementation the animal’s tentacles were stretched, which, due to their elasticity, can stretch quite strongly in length.
In order to find out a number of characteristics of the giant squid, including its growth, 130 representatives of this species were studied, as well as undigested beaks found in their stomachs. These studies showed that the greatest length of the giant squid's mantle is 22.25 meters, and the length of the squid, including its arms, not without tentacles, almost never exceeds five meters.
After the death of the giant squid, the maximum total length with tentacles relaxed (for obvious reasons) was 16.5 meters, starting from the end of the fins and ending with the tips of the hunting tentacles. The maximum weight of the giant squid was 275 kilograms for females and 150 kilograms for males.
Reproduction of the giant squid
Unfortunately, very little is known about the reproduction of the giant squid. Presumably, it reaches sexual maturity at three years, and males reach it at a smaller size than females. Produced by females a large number of eggs Each egg has a length ranging from 0.5 to 1.4 millimeters and a width from 0.3 to 0.7 millimeters. In the posterior cavity of the mantle, the female has one ovary, which is not paired, as well as paired spiral oviducts.
The unpaired posterior testicle produces sperm in males, passing through a glandular system that is characterized by considerable complexity and ultimately creates spermatophores. When giant squids mate, spermatophores are ejected through a long, up to ninety-centimetre-long, grasping penis extending from the mantle.
Unfortunately, it is still unknown how the male sperm travels to the eggs. The reason for this misunderstanding is that the hectocotylus, which is used by many cephalopods for reproduction, is completely absent in the giant squid. Presumably, sperm is stored in spermatophore sacs ejected by males onto the tentacles of females. This assumption is based on the fact that auxiliary antennae were found on the tentacles of some females that were caught.
Architeuthis dux means "super-squid prince". In the postlarval stage, juvenile giant squid were studied off the coast of New Zealand. Plans are currently underway to place several specimens of the giant squid in an aquarium in order to further study these mollusks.
Analysis of the mollusk's mitochondrial DNA, which was carried out around the world, demonstrated that the variation between different individuals was extremely small: in total, out of 20,331 genes, only 181 differences were identified. Based on this, it can be assumed that the larvae of giant squids are carried over vast distances by ocean currents. Based on the same data, we can say that currently there is one global population these cephalopods.
Feeding the giant squid
According to recent research, the giant squid feeds on fish that lead a deep-sea lifestyle, as well as other types of mollusks. It catches its prey using hunting tentacles. It captures prey with the help of suction cups, and then brings its victim to its powerful beak and then grinds it with the help of a peculiar tongue with small teeth (radula). After this, food is sent to the esophagus. It is most likely that giant squids always hunt alone.
In any case, these cephalopods have never been caught in fishing nets more than one at a time. Despite the fact that the majority of giant squid were caught by grenadier trawls in New Zealand waters, this fish is not included in the diet of giant squid. Based on this, it can be assumed that both macrouronus and giant squid can hunt the same prey.
To date, only one animal is known that is capable of hunting adult giant squid. This animal is. It is possible that giant squids also pose a certain danger. Deep sea sharks and some other large fish can eat juvenile giant squid. Researchers are currently attempting to use the giant squid's natural enemies, sperm whales, to monitor the squid.
Distribution of the giant squid
The giant squid can be found in all oceans of the planet. As a rule, it is found near the continental slopes in the north of the Atlantic Ocean (British Isles, Norway, Newfoundland) and in the south of the Atlantic - in the region of South Africa. In the Pacific Ocean, giant squids are found near the Japanese Islands, New Zealand and Australia. The giant squid is relatively rarely found in polar and tropical latitudes.
Nothing is known yet about how giant squids are positioned vertically. However, data on those individuals that were caught, as well as observations of sperm whales and their behavior, allow us to make the assumption that the giant squid lives at depths, the range of which ranges from three hundred meters to one kilometer.
Taxonomy of the giant squid
The taxonomy of the giant squid cannot be considered settled (however, the same can be said about many other genera of squid). To date, researchers have identified eight species of giant squid. At the same time, the majority of researchers believe that there are neither physiological nor genetic prerequisites for identifying so many species and we can only talk about one species that is distributed throughout the world’s oceans - the Atlantic giant squid.
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Since ancient times, myths have circulated among people about giant monsters from the abyss, thirsting for the blood and flesh of sailor travelers. The uncharted depths of the ocean, which could not be conquered then, were the object and main reason for inventions, fairy tales and terrible fables concerning its mysterious inhabitants. It is worth saying that even today no one can say for sure that the planet’s water space, the so-called abyss, has been fully studied. Ancient records tell of how monsters with huge tentacles from depths of the sea attacked ships and galleys, taking them with them into the abyss. Those who managed to stay alive after the attack very often embellished their stories about unprecedented creatures, attributing fictitious abilities to the monsters and distorting them appearance. Due to all the above-mentioned factors, it was almost impossible to determine who exactly the wanderers met with.
Today the situation has changed somewhat, and mankind has learned a lot about some unusual inhabitants of the seas and oceans. In the article we would like to talk about the largest squid in the world, namely, talk about their distinctive features, characteristic features species and provide interesting and reliable facts about huge sea monsters.
Habitat of huge mollusks
It is known for certain that there are giant squids on earth that live in the depths of the waters of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. Also, these cephalopods can live in seas, both warm and cold. People have more than once managed to catch individuals that could be called the largest squid in the world. Sometimes it even happened that the giant was cut down by the ship's propellers when he tried to attack. However, when such events took place for the first time, humanity did not have the necessary equipment to study the characteristics of the captured animal. Modern technologies allow you to thoroughly examine these living creatures and provide complete information about them.
Giant Architeuthis and the first mention of it
One of the largest inhabitants of the ocean depths is considered to be the giant squid, or Architeuthis, as it is called in scientific books. Individuals of this species prefer to be in temperate and subtropical latitudes of all 4 oceans. Giant squids live at a depth of several kilometers and only sometimes swim to the surface. The first mention of architeuthis occurs at the end of the 19th century. During another sea voyage in 1887, which took place near the coast of New Zealand, sailors discovered a strange and frightening creature. It was not difficult to notice, because the storm waves simply washed the huge mollusk onto land. According to the data that the expedition was able to obtain on the spot, the size of the unusual find was amazing. The length of the monster's body reached incredible dimensions - 17.5 meters, and 5 of them were only tentacles. The mantle of an adult individual was also by no means small - about 2 meters. Unfortunately, it was not possible to establish the exact weight of the sea monster at that time, but judging by the given parameters, it was quite large.
A successful attempt to explore a huge inhabitant of the depths
The next specimen, called one of the largest squids in the world, was discovered in Antarctica 120 years after the first mention of the sea monster. In 2007, fishermen caught a deep-sea inhabitant whose body reached 9 meters in length. Then the weight of the find was easy to establish, because fishing tankers currently have all the necessary equipment for weighing the catch directly on board. The giant squid surprised the crew with its size, as its mass was just over 500 kilograms.
The terrifying Mesonychoteuthis
It is now known for certain that Architeuthis is far from the only species of inhabitants of the depths that frighten humanity with its size. Since time immemorial, there has been another representative of giant monsters of the cephalopod species on earth - mesonychoteuthis. This giant squid monster is considered one of the largest in modern times. It can be called a close relative of Architeuthis, only it is much more majestic. Mesonychoteuthis is the only representative of its genus, because, unlike Architeuthis, its weight is somewhat larger: the mantle of adult individuals alone reaches a mind-boggling size - its length is equal to four meters. By the way, another name for a giant is colossal.
The contents of the sperm whale's stomach, which revealed new facts to science
The first records of Mesonychoteuthys were made in the early 19th century. British zoologist Robson examined tentacles taken from the stomach of a sperm whale caught on the southern islands of Scotland and came to the conclusion that they could only belong to the aforementioned sea giant. Subsequently, for many years, no information regarding cephalopod monster squids was reported.
Great luck for scientists
A significant period of time after Robson’s study of the tentacles of the sea monster, scientists discovered 4 eggs in the far Atlantic, presumably left by mollusks. Having studied their composition and origin, they came to the conclusion that the eggs actually belong to a female squid rare species mesonychoteuthys. Scientific data appeared in 1970, that is, almost 50 years after Robson’s first experiment. The characteristics and features of the surviving masonry were carefully studied by experienced specialists of the time. And 9 years after research work managed to catch an adult specimen of Mesonychoteuthis. Her mantle measured 117 cm in length, and she was the largest female squid in the world.
Bloodthirsty and terrible kraken: fiction or reality?
There are legends about giant squids, whose history goes back to the distant past. Ancient sailors told tales about sea monsters that attacked ships, engulfed them with their tentacles and carried away all living things to the seabed. These mythical creatures at that time were nicknamed krakens. Until the end of the 16th century they were considered fictitious. However, after a while, humanity was convinced of the opposite, because the kraken washed up on the shores of Western Ireland was first found and subsequently presented as an exhibit in the Dublin Museum. By the way, the kraken is the largest squid in the world that science knows today.
Distinctive features of the kraken
The giant mollusk differs from other ocean inhabitants by its head, which has a cylindrical shape, on which is located something resembling a bird’s beak. It is with this that he captures and grinds prey. The eyes of the kraken are considered the largest in comparison with the organs of vision of all other animals living on planet Earth. Their diameter is 25 cm. The color of the creature changes depending on its mood: from dark green to blood red. The largest squid in the world and its peculiarity in the form of a spike-shaped tongue, with which the mollusk pushes prey into the stomach, instills fear even in experienced sailors.
Giants attack people
It is worth noting that the captain of the Norwegian fishing tanker Arne Grönningseter recently told the public amazing story, which touched a huge kraken. According to him, giants pose an incredible danger to people who devote their lives to fishing, or simply those who like to be at sea. The fact is that his ship Brunswick was attacked several times by the aforementioned monster. The captain spoke about the tactics that the mollusk chooses to attack: it first floats to the surface of the water from the abyss, then accompanies the ship for a short time, as if waiting for a certain moment, and then with lightning speed it emerges from the water and pounces on the ship. Only due to the fact that the tentacles of the cephalopod monster could not catch on the surface of the deck and the hull of the ship, the crew managed to escape and remain unharmed in the unequal battle.
Fixed values
If we talk about specific figures that relate to the dimensions of huge underwater inhabitants, and answer the question about the size of the largest squid in the world (their body length), then we should disappoint seekers of such information. To this day, science has not established any certain values. Experts only suggest that the body length of cephalopods that live in the waters of the World Ocean and prefer its very bottom can exceed 50 meters.
Interesting facts about giant squids
There are several exciting and real facts about the life of huge and frightening inhabitants of the depths. We will list only the most interesting of them:
- Currently, a mammal is known that can attack one of the largest squids in the world (its name is Architeuthis) - the sperm whale. IN old times to this day, real fights took place between the opponents, in which, as a rule, the sperm whale won. It was thanks to the contents of the mammal’s stomach that science was able to establish the very fact of the existence of a deep-sea giant.
- The first photos of an adult giant squid were taken in Japan. An overgrown mollusk was found on the surface of ocean waters and pulled ashore. It was not possible to keep the exclusive inhabitant of marine fauna alive. The squid died within 24 hours of being removed from the water. Today, the remains of this creature are kept in the Japanese Museum of Nature and Science.
- The “buoyancy” of the largest squid in the world, the size of which is truly amazing, is due to the content of a solution of aluminum chloride in their body, which has a lower density than sea water. Because of this property, which distinguishes it from other marine life that has an air bubble, the deep-sea giant squid is unsuitable for human food.
- The age of squids is determined by their beak.
- Unlike other deep-sea inhabitants, the brain and nervous system of squids are unusually developed and still remain a mystery and a subject of research for scientists and specialists in this field.
- Despite their impressive size, giant squids can remain invisible to their prey. This is evidenced by the imprints of suckers on the bodies of whales exposed to attacks by these monsters. Scientists have proven that architeuthis, mesonychoteuthys and krakens lead a passive lifestyle. However, when hunting prey, they show activity and resourcefulness.
- In anticipation of danger, the colossal squid releases a protective fluid that is fatal to humans and other sea creatures.
- One suction cup, which is located directly on the tentacles of the giant squid, will hold about 20 liters of water.
Results
In conclusion, I would like to say that it doesn’t matter at all what the world’s largest squid looks like. The stories that sailors told about giant krakens go back to the distant past. Only facts remain - irrefutable, reliable. But here’s the paradox: some of them still remain a mystery to zoologists. Today, everyone knows only that giant squids are not a fiction, but a reality that is covered in a veil of mystery.
About squid
Squids are cephalopods. They live in the seas and in all oceans. Species of squid that live in northern latitudes, in particular in the Arctic Ocean, are small in size and, in most cases, colorless. The remaining species also do not have bright colors, often they are pale colors - pinkish, bluish.
The exact number of squid species is unknown, as many species live at great depths, making research difficult.
The average size of all squid is about 25 - 50 cm, with the exception of giant squid. The size of the giant squid can be terrifying: its body length reaches 18 m, and 12 m is just the tentacles. When you see such a creature, you involuntarily remember films about sea monsters.
As for the body structure, it is similar in most species of squid. The body shape is elongated, somewhat reminiscent of a torpedo. The body of a squid, like the body of an octopus, is called a mantle in which the internal organs are enclosed.
In front is a large head with large eyes. The head is equipped with ten tentacles, two of which are near the mouth, that is, in the center, and have more powerful suction cups than on the other tentacles. The jaws are beak-shaped, which allows the squid to tear pieces off its prey.
Squids are predators and therefore hunt for their prey. They can attack schools of swimming fish, with lightning speed, pouncing on the victim, the squid is able to bite its spine in a matter of seconds. Various plankton, other types of squid, and some mollusks are also obtained for food.
Thanks to the shape of its body, the squid is able to move quickly, as if cutting through the water column. Acceleration is achieved through a special siphon (tube), from which water comes out with powerful pushes. To change the direction of movement, you just need to turn the siphon. Squids can reach speeds exceeding 50 km/h, and flying squids can reach speeds of up to 70 km/h.
Sometimes squid, like jet engines, rush through a school of fish and simply tear off a piece of flesh from them: “even if I don’t eat it, I’ll bite it.” The fish eventually dies.
Many species have on their body something like wing-fins, which are used as a balance when swimming. Making a powerful push, the squid jumps out of the water and, spreading its tentacles and wings, glides over the water. They are also called flying squids.
A feature of some types of squid can be considered the ability to glow in the dark, due to the bacteria found in the tissues of these creatures. They use the glow as protection from enemies - suddenly lighting up in a bright color, the surprise plunges the enemy into a kind of stupor and the squid has the opportunity to quickly retreat.
Also, squids, like octopuses, can release ink for protection. To save their lives, squids often resort to escape by jumping out of the water and flying over the water, that is, disappearing from the enemy’s field of view.
Squids reproduce by laying eggs. After the male fertilizes the female, by transferring a spermatophore - a packet of sperm, the female places it next to the eggs, which she lays on the seabed, or attaches it to algae. During one clutch, the saka lays about two dozen eggs.
The eggs are elongated cylindrical in shape and white in color. The ripening period is one month and a half.
The life span of a squid is short. On average they live about 2 – 3 years.
Large species of squid live solitarily, while small ones, living in the upper layers of water, gather in schools.
There is the so-called Architeuthis - a genus of huge oceanic squid, whose length reaches 18 meters in length. The largest specimen was found in 1887 on the coast of New Zealand - its length was 17.4 meters. Unfortunately, nothing is said about weight.
Giant squid can be found in the subtropical and temperate zones of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans. They live in the water column, and they can be found both a few meters from the surface and at a depth of one kilometer.
No one is capable of attacking this animal except one, namely the sperm whale. At one time it was believed that a terrible battle was being fought between these two, the outcome of which remained unknown to the last. But, as recent studies have shown, architeuthis loses in 99% of cases, since power is always on the side of the sperm whale.
If we talk about squid caught in our time, we can talk about a specimen that was caught by fishermen in the Antarctic region in 2007 (see the first photo). Scientists wanted to examine it, but could not - at that time there was no suitable equipment, so they decided to freeze the giant until better times. As for the dimensions, they are as follows: body length - 9 meters, and weight - 495 kilograms. This is the so-called colossal squid or mesonychoteuthis.
And this is possibly a photograph of the largest squid in the world:
Even ancient sailors told terrible stories in sailor taverns about the attack of monsters that emerged from the abyss and sank entire ships, entangling them with their tentacles. They were called krakens. They became legends. Their existence was viewed rather skeptically. But even Aristotle described a meeting with the “great Teuthys”, from which travelers who plied the waters suffered Mediterranean Sea. Where does reality end and truth begin?
Homer was the first to describe the kraken in his tales. Scylla, whom Odysseus met in his wanderings, is nothing more than a giant kraken. The Gorgon Medusa borrowed tentacles from the monster, which over time transformed into snakes. And, of course, the Hydra, defeated by Hercules, is a distant “relative” of this mysterious creature. On the frescoes of Greek temples you can find images of creatures that wrap their tentacles around entire ships.
Soon the myth took on flesh. People met a mythical monster. This happened in the west of Ireland, when in 1673 a storm washed up on the seashore a creature the size of a horse, with eyes like dishes and many appendages. He had a huge beak, like an eagle's. Remains of the Kraken for a long time were an exhibit that was shown to everyone for big money in Dublin.
Carl Linnaeus, in his famous classification, assigned them to the order of mollusks, calling them Sepia microcosmos. Subsequently, zoologists systematized all known information and were able to give a description of this species. In 1802, Denis de Montfort published the book “General and Particular Natural History of Mollusks,” which subsequently inspired many adventurers to capture the mysterious deep-seated animal.
The year was 1861, and the steamer Dlekton was making a routine voyage across the Atlantic. Suddenly a giant squid appeared on the horizon. The captain decided to harpoon him. And they were even able to drive several sharp lances into solid kraken. But three hours of struggle were in vain. The mollusk sank to the bottom, almost dragging the ship with it. At the ends of the harpoons there were scraps of meat weighing a total of 20 kilograms. The ship's artist managed to sketch the struggle between man and animal, and this drawing is still kept in the French Academy of Sciences.
A second attempt to capture the kraken alive was made ten years later, when it ended up in a fishing net near Newfoundland. People fought for ten hours with the stubborn and freedom-loving animal. They were able to pull him ashore. The ten-meter carcass was examined by the famous naturalist Harvey, who preserved the kraken in salt water and the exhibit delighted visitors to the London History Museum for many years.
Ten years later, on the other side of the earth, in New Zealand, fishermen were able to catch a twenty-meter clam weighing 200 kilograms. The most recent discovery was a kraken found in the Falkland Islands. It was “only” 8 meters long and is still kept at the Darwin Center in the UK capital.
What is he like? This animal has a cylindrical head, several meters in length. Its body changes color from dark green to crimson-red (depending on the animal’s mood). Krakens have the largest eyes in the animal world. They can be up to 25 centimeters in diameter. In the center of the “head” is the beak. This is a chitinous formation that the animal uses to grind fish and other food. With it, he is able to bite through a steel cable 8 centimeters thick. The kraken's tongue has a curious structure. It is covered with small teeth that have different shapes, allow you to grind food and push it into the esophagus.
A meeting with a kraken does not always end in victory for people. Here's an incredible story floating around the Internet: in March 2011, a squid attacked fishermen in the Sea of Cortez. In front of people vacationing at the Loreto resort, a huge octopus sank a 12-meter ship. The fishing boat was walking parallel to the coastline when suddenly several dozen thick tentacles emerged from the water towards it. They wrapped themselves around the sailors and threw them overboard. Then the monster began to rock the ship until it capsized.
According to an eyewitness: “I saw four or five bodies washed ashore by the surf. Their bodies were almost completely covered with blue spots - from the suckers of sea monsters. One was still alive. But he hardly resembled a person. The squid literally chewed him up!”
This is Photoshop.
According to zoologists, it was a carnivorous Humboldt squid that lives in these waters. And he was not alone. The flock deliberately attacked the ship, acted in a coordinated manner and consisted mainly of females. There are fewer and fewer fish in these waters and the krakens need to look for food. The fact that they reached people is an alarming sign.
Below, in the cold and dark depths of the Pacific Ocean, lives a very smart and cautious creature. About this truly unearthly creature there are legends all over the world. But this monster is real.
This is the giant squid or Humboldt squid. It received its name in honor of the Humboldt Current, where it was first discovered. This is a cold current washing the shores South America, but the habitat of this creature is much larger. It extends from Chile north to Central California through Pacific Ocean. Giant squids patrol the depths of the ocean, spending most of their lives at depths of up to 700 meters. Therefore, very little is known about their behavior.
They can reach the height of an adult. Their size can exceed 2 meters. Without any warning, they emerge from the darkness in groups and feed on fish on the surface. Like their octopus relative, giant squids can change their color by opening and closing pigment-filled sacs in their skin called chromatophores. By quickly closing these chromatophores, they turn white. Perhaps this is necessary to distract the attention of other predators, or perhaps it is a form of communication. And if something alarms them or they behave aggressively, then their color turns red.
Fishermen who cast their lines and try to catch these giants off the coast of Central America call them red devils. These same fishermen talk about how squids pulled people overboard and ate them. The squid's behavior does nothing to alleviate these fears. Lightning-fast tentacles armed with spiny suckers grab the victim's flesh and drag him towards a waiting mouth. There the sharp beak breaks and shreds the food. Red Devil Apparently giant squids eat everything they can catch, even their own kind. As a desperate measure of defense, the weaker squid shoots an ink cloud from a sac near its head. This dark pigment is designed to hide and confuse enemies.
Few people have had the opportunity or the courage to approach a giant squid in the water. But one wild animal filmmaker went into the dark to capture this unique footage. The squid quickly surrounds him, first showing curiosity and then aggression. The tentacles have grabbed his mask and regulator and this is fraught with the cessation of air. It will be able to restrain the squid and return to the surface if it also shows aggression and behaves like a predator. This short meeting gave some insight into intelligence, strength and
But the real giants are the krakens that live in the Bermuda area. They can reach a length of up to 20 meters, and at the very bottom hide monsters up to 50 meters long. Their targets are sperm whales and whales.
This is how the Englishman Wollen described one such fight: “At first it was like the eruption of an underwater volcano. Looking through binoculars, I was convinced that neither the volcano nor the earthquake had anything to do with what was happening in the ocean. But the forces operating there were so enormous that I can be excused for the first assumption: very big sperm whale locked in mortal combat with a giant squid almost as big as himself. It seemed as if the endless tentacles of the mollusk had entangled the entire body of the enemy in a continuous net. Even next to the ominously black head of a sperm whale, the squid's head seemed such a terrible object that one would not always dream of it even in a nightmare. Huge and bulging eyes against the deathly pale background of the squid’s body made it look like a monstrous ghost.”
And a few more sea giants for your attention: here, for example, and here, well, and here’s after you
