Comments on: Squid!

Squid!

footnote — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 17:44:34 -0800

Giant squid photographed.

By: footnote

footnote — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 17:47:49 -0800

Never going swimming again.

By: Dean Keaton

Dean Keaton — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 17:48:27 -0800

Shit!

By: BT

BT — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 17:49:05 -0800

Man, I almost double-posted. (I've been sitting here building my FPP with refs to past discussions...and luckily thought to look again at the main page before hitting submit). So I'll just add -- we have already talked about dead giant squids (as well as images of living samples of a similar species) -- but these are apparently real live Architeuthis. And for what it's worth, I found these images of the Ogasawara Islands, which are not far from where the squid were photographed. Hooray for Krakenfilter!

By: clevershark

clevershark — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 17:52:07 -0800

Giant squid do it deeper.

By: Edible Energy

Edible Energy — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 17:52:48 -0800

mmmmmm.... squid...

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 17:55:52 -0800

"These... are small. Those... are far away."

By: jonmc

jonmc — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 17:56:45 -0800

We're gonna need a lotta cocktail sauce...

By: eddydamascene

eddydamascene — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 17:57:02 -0800

So they ripped a tentacle off trying to pull it to the surface?

By: LeeJay

LeeJay — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 17:57:25 -0800

This makes so much happier than it probably should.

By: footnote

footnote — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 17:58:28 -0800

Sorry BT - I'm sure you were constructing a much more worthy FPP! I have to go home now before a giant squid breaks through the plate glass window of my office.

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 17:59:59 -0800

Metafilter: "... having such a big penis does have one drawback: it seems that co-ordinating eight legs, two feeding tentacles and a huge penis, whilst fending off an irate female, is a bit too much to ask ..."

By: Staggering Jack

Staggering Jack — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 18:01:54 -0800

Wow. As much as I dig this stuff, I also liked the idea that there was something out there that was this large (and was perhaps the inspiration for those squiggly sea monsters drawn on the edges of ancient maps) that we didn't know much about and had really never seen. Here's to scientific progress over mysteries and here's the actual article about the pictures.

By: clevershark

clevershark — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 18:05:12 -0800

odinsdream -- it'd be just as funny to end the tagline after "drawback".

By: cleardawn

cleardawn — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 18:10:48 -0800

"... a particularly long penis, which means they can inject the female without having to get too close to her chomping beak." Ah, the joys of true love!

By: weapons-grade pandemonium

weapons-grade pandemonium — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 18:11:29 -0800

I'm waiting for them to glue a camera on the head of a sperm whale. Digital IMAX, preferably.

By: shmegegge

shmegegge — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 18:15:20 -0800

my god. this is precisely the kind of thing I am most afraid of. Every time I go swimming in the ocean, I'm nearly petrified by the thought of inadvertently angering some slumbering leviathan and being dragged down to a murky watery grave by one. Which may explain why that picture seems so unbelievably fascinating to me.

By: Mach3avelli

Mach3avelli — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 18:17:00 -0800

Incredibly cool.

By: Slack-a-gogo

Slack-a-gogo — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 18:17:06 -0800

"...the massive cephalopod was armed with two huge beaks and rotating hooks along its tentacles" Rotating hooks?!? Is it a squid or a slaughterhouse?

By: mrkredo

mrkredo — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 18:17:18 -0800

Just a calamari.

By: WolfDaddy

WolfDaddy — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 18:18:47 -0800

Now this is tentacle porn! ...had to be said...

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 18:27:15 -0800

You'd think a big-time outfit like National Geographic could come up with a better way to do a slide show that reloading the entire page, or something. Nonetheless, this only reinforces my relief at being a land animal.

By: thefreek

thefreek — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 18:27:18 -0800

WTB [Deepdive Helmet] PST

By: clevershark

clevershark — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 18:33:08 -0800

mr_crash_davis writes "You'd think a big-time outfit like National Geographic could come up with a better way to do a slide show that reloading the entire page, or something." Sure, but that way each pic is bookmarkable.

By: boo_radley

boo_radley — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 18:35:38 -0800

*shudder* It looks like the squid is shooting a white laser to the left in the first two pictures. If giant squid isn't enough to put the fear in you, giant laser squid surely is.

By: clevershark

clevershark — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 18:42:54 -0800

You mean squid with freakin' laser beams on their heads?

By: gesamtkunstwerk

gesamtkunstwerk — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 18:59:17 -0800

This really is a cool post. It's kind of beautiful, as well as terrifying. Now where's the Nautilus?

By: BT

BT — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 19:05:09 -0800

No worries, footnote. Sometimes brevity's the thing. "Giant squid photographed" has a quietly definitive poetry to it.

By: Catch

Catch — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 19:08:07 -0800

So they ripped a tentacle off trying to pull it to the surface? See, in Japanese scientific circles there is no distinction made between "research marine creature" and "kill and eat marine creature".

By: clevershark

clevershark — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 19:14:08 -0800

I wonder how much garlic you need to get just the right flavour out of that huge tentacle...

By: marxchivist

marxchivist — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 19:14:34 -0800

This is cool as hell. I remember being disappointed at the pickled giant squid at the Museum of Natural History in DC a couple years ago, but also fascinated when the accompanying text to the pickled squid said when had never been seen or photographed in the wild. So they ripped a tentacle off trying to pull it to the surface? From reading the article it looks like it was a bait hook, and they were specifically searching for a squid to try and photograph it. Not sure if they were trying to drag it in, I think the poor thing was just struggling.

By: edgeways

edgeways — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 19:14:40 -0800

What a Japanese "research vessel" actually did some research? goodness. (link may be a bit inflammatory, I apologize)

By: geoff.

geoff. — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 19:16:15 -0800

I saw a cool program on Discovery HD in which a scientist off New Zealand was attempting to capture a baby giant squid (you know, the size of a quarter) and raise it to adult size, instead of capturing an adult. They had some success, finding something like 5-6 baby giant squids in two weeks but it took a lot of work and none survived more than a couple weeks. So technically this is not the first giant squid photographed, but the first adult one photographed. It seems to me that they will very soon here get the holding tank into a condition favored by this squid and the whole mystery will no longer be.

By: edgeways

edgeways — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 19:17:40 -0800

So, do we send the special forces dolphins after them?

By: Sonny Jim

Sonny Jim — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 19:37:07 -0800

geoff.: and I thought I was the only one who'd seen that doco! I remember laughing myself sick at the deep, portentous voice-over intoning about 'the first ever pictures of a live giant squid', while the TV screen showed a bunch of transparent, 5 mil. larvae swimming around a small fish tank. I can just imagine the confusion back at Discovery HQ over that one -- Yay! We've captured the first-ever images of a live giant squid! Only, it's, like...5 mm. long. What do we do now?

By: showmethecalvino

showmethecalvino — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 19:43:00 -0800

So they ripped a tentacle off trying to pull it to the surface? Cthulu's going to be pissed.

By: jrochest

jrochest — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 20:03:46 -0800

Cthulu's going to be pissed. Yes, I think we're in grave danger of enraging our Cephalopod Overlords.

By: kosher_jenny

kosher_jenny — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 20:23:03 -0800

Wow, this is cool. I'm also terrified though. (they didn't seem so scary when they were dead)

By: nervousfritz

nervousfritz — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 20:24:21 -0800

So they ripped a tentacle off trying to pull it to the surface? Although my heart doesn't bleed for a squid, it's great how there's no issues raised regarding the rarity of the creature nor of the possibility of having used a non damaging technique instead.

By: spirit72

spirit72 — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 20:47:34 -0800

Metafilter: We're gonna need a bigger ship....

By: tss

tss — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 20:48:51 -0800

There are lots of giant squid, as far as we know. They're not hunted, and they live in the extreme deep see where pollutants are thought to have less of an impact. I get this from reading the Wikipedia article on sperm whales, their chief predator. Not all exotic creatures are endangered.

By: tss

tss — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 20:49:09 -0800

er, deep sea.

By: loquacious

loquacious — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 20:50:08 -0800

Holy crap! *gibbers madly*

By: tss

tss — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 21:01:45 -0800

Anyone who takes a neuroscience class learns about a peculiar thing called the squid giant axon, part of one of the largest nerve cells in the animal kingdom. This single cell in normal squids is plainly visible to the eye, having as it does an axonal diameter of 1mm. The giant axon is necessary for fast transmission of nerve signals, since invertebrate nerve cells lack myelin sheaths. The massive size of the cell enabled Hodgkin and Huxley to perform the experiments that essentially led to our understanding of the ionic currents underlying all neural signaling. Of course the obvious question for the bored student is how big the giant squid giant axon is---surely if the squid giant axon is big, then one from a giant squid must be huge! And it is. 4mm wide, thicker than a coffee stirrer. An enormous cell! Source.

By: fenriq

fenriq — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 21:09:42 -0800

Sharks worry me alot more than giant squid but I will still swim in the bay. These pictures were cool!

By: LarryC

LarryC — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 21:12:37 -0800

Scientists often find the remains of the large squid in the whales' stomachs. In addition, marks made by squid suckers have been seen on whale skins. Holy shit, there's a brutal interspecies war of giants taking place 2000 feet below the world's oceans, going on for millennia. I will not sleep tonight.

By: i_am_joe's_spleen

i_am_joe's_spleen — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 21:16:05 -0800

Never mind that giant squid. This squid is colossal! (via)

By: If I Had An Anus

If I Had An Anus — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 21:36:55 -0800

Too cool! I mean .

By: MrBadExample

MrBadExample — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 21:43:55 -0800

LarryC, it's worse than you ever imagined. This is seriously cool, but at the same time, I feel like a little mystery has gone out of the world. John Fowles was right: an answer is always a form of death.

By: Saydur

Saydur — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 21:50:22 -0800

Damn lucky Japanese scientists probably got to eat the tentacle too. This creature is fascinating and I really want to eat it.

By: Jon-o

Jon-o — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 22:05:18 -0800

AHHHH!! THAT CAN'T BE REAL!!! Nothing with that many limbs should grow to be so big!

By: scarabic

scarabic — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 22:13:12 -0800

By: missbossy

missbossy — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 22:35:35 -0800

So they ripped a tentacle off trying to pull it to the surface? Actually it had to rip its own tentacle off to try get away. ... After a monstrous battle, the squid eventually freed itself, but left a giant tentacle on the hook. Poor monster... Damn sushi lovers just out for some geso.

By: Staggering Jack

Staggering Jack — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 22:43:29 -0800

Cool - I had never heard of the Bloop before. Now if only I was cool enough to get invited to the right sort of marine biology party, I suspect I'd be casually mentioning it all the time. Thanks.

By: IndpMed

IndpMed — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 23:06:29 -0800

LarryC, it's worse than you ever imagined Yes, sexually aggressive sperm whales penetrating Rockefeller's oligarchies in our collective, unconscious mind is frightening. Seriously, the photo is impressive, and I hope we soon see an autopsy report.

By: ryanrs

ryanrs — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 23:50:01 -0800

Giant squids are inedible since their flesh contains large amounts of ammonia. The ammonia is less dense than water and allows the squids to achieve neutral buoyancy. Wikipedia: Giant squid

By: longbaugh

longbaugh — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 01:33:33 -0800

That "bloop" sounds very much like a very large underwater gaseous exhalation. Perhaps eating giant squid gives sperm whales gas?

By: Paragon

Paragon — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 02:03:28 -0800

They have an embalmed giant squid in the small Napier Aquarium in NZ; those suckers are lethal. Very cool that they've finally spotted one in action.

By: methylsalicylate

methylsalicylate — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 02:48:28 -0800

It's a good idea to play it safe.

By: maryh

maryh — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 02:54:57 -0800

After reading this story from The New Yorker, I really hoped Steve O'Shea would have been the first to photograph the giant squid. But so it goes. (I hate to admit it, but the 4th photo from footnote's link made me kind of hungry for sushi.)

By: loquacious

loquacious — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 03:30:48 -0800

scarabic: That bloop thing and the whole phenomenon of unidentifiable ocean noises deserves a detailed front page post. That bloop noise at the NOAA Vents Program for Acoustic Monitoring site was giving me the willies, as did the other "Unidentified Sounds". I'm going to be haunted by dreams resembling the movie Abyss, but with less peacefully glowing ET people and more hugenormous cephalopods and unimaginable lurking terrors of the deep. Fnord.

By: gen

gen — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 04:19:36 -0800

See, in Japanese scientific circles there is no distinction made between "research marine creature" and "kill and eat marine creature". posted by Catch at 12:08 PM JST on September 28 This comment was unnecesary and unfortunate.

By: The Ultimate Olympian

The Ultimate Olympian — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 04:29:09 -0800

"You're gonna need a bigger boat."

By: Pendragon

Pendragon — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 04:39:22 -0800

This comment was unnecesary and unfortunate. But true?

By: May Kasahara

May Kasahara — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 05:22:37 -0800

Whoa! Very cool.

By: Witty

Witty — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 05:37:56 -0800

So they ripped a tentacle off trying to pull it to the surface? Defense strategy.

By: sjvilla79

sjvilla79 — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 06:55:51 -0800

There was a video of this on the news just now. Is that video on the Web? It would appear the linked photos are made up partially of stills from its footage and I'd like to see it if it's freely downloadable.

By: uni verse

uni verse — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 06:57:43 -0800

Mr.BadExample, thanks, that extra link to that painting made my day.

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 07:10:12 -0800

Ia! Ia! Fthagn.

By: edgeways

edgeways — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 07:29:27 -0800

uni verse : The BBC site has a video, on the right hand side toolbar near the top

By: maxsparber

maxsparber — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 08:31:55 -0800

My nightmares now have a new specific form.

By: robocop is bleeding

robocop is bleeding — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 08:57:26 -0800

They have swivelling hooks. Aiieee. Still, someday...

By: LeeJay

LeeJay — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 08:58:59 -0800

edgeways, thanks for the video link.

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 09:40:25 -0800

Somewhere in the woods of Ontario, Troy Hurtubise is shaving himself with a Bowie knife as he watches this and thinking "Shit, I could take one o' them. I got a knife, after all. Now to build my Anti-Squid Suit, Mark 1..." I wonder what TEUTHIS will stand for... Totally Enclosed Underwater Troy House for Investigating Squids?

By: footnote

footnote — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 09:46:37 -0800

Why can I not stop looking at these pictures? So scary, yet so compelling...

By: crake

crake — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 10:20:59 -0800

I remember being disappointed at the pickled giant squid at the Museum of Natural History in DC a couple years ago, but also fascinated when the accompanying text to the pickled squid said [it] had never been seen or photographed in the wild. Yes, it's habitat behind the counters of bars, among the pickled eggs and the six-year-old peanuts, is difficult for researchers to access. Luckily its relatives with equally impressive shelf-lives, the freeze-dried squid and the country smoked squid, have been studied extensively. Also, the squid's tentacle should grow back, so the researchers haven't left a permanently disabled squid to fend for itself. I'd be more worried about the researchers themselves, since cephalopod tentacles, as this one has demonstrated, are capable of movement and color change after being detached. Japanese scientist #1: This has certainly been a fascinating research voyage! Say, did you hear a strange noise coming from the specimen cooler last night? Japanese scientist #2: Yes, though I am sure it was nothing to worry about. Let's go look at my collection of animated por . . . Dr. Yamato? Dr. Yamato? Where did you AAAARRRRRGGGGGH!!!

By: palinode

palinode — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 10:51:17 -0800

Great. Now we've alerted the giant squids to our presence. Prepare for an asymmetrical battle as the squids come ashore with water breathing apparatus and laser beams.

By: i_am_joe's_spleen

i_am_joe's_spleen — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 13:04:59 -0800

"This comment was unnecesary and unfortunate." As far as the so-called scientific whaling programme goes it seems entirely justified.

By: PY

PY — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 16:32:21 -0800

Ooh, thanks, I like this shot . The suction cups on the tentacle look beautiful. A deep sea photographer on the radio today said that there are believed to be squid as big as 80 feet long, judging by the size of suction marks found on whales and pieces of squid analyzed by researches. He guessed that the squid would grow back its missing tentacle. I hope it does.

By: maxsparber

maxsparber — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 17:35:00 -0800

I just hope it doesn't eat me the next time I go swimming.

By: scarabic

scarabic — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 18:44:41 -0800

scarabic: That bloop thing and the whole phenomenon of unidentifiable ocean noises deserves a detailed front page post. Yeah I wound up on the Bloop entry of Wikipedia a few days ago and have been thinking the same thing. I will work on one.

By: sjvilla79

sjvilla79 — Thu, 29 Sep 2005 01:49:51 -0800

edgeways, cheers for the video link.

By: agregoli

agregoli — Thu, 29 Sep 2005 10:12:28 -0800

Wheee! I'm so thrilled.

By: underer

underer — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 15:21:01 -0800

Perhaps we should be arming the sperm whales.