BigDyl

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- A fishing crew has caught a colossal squid that could weigh a half-ton and prove to be the biggest specimen ever landed, a fisheries official said Thursday.

If calamari rings were made from the squid they would be the size of tractor tires, one expert said.

The squid, weighing an estimated 990 pounds and about 39 feet long, took two hours to land in Antarctic waters, New Zealand Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton said.

The fishermen were catching Patagonian toothfish, sold under the name Chilean sea bass, south of New Zealand "and the squid was eating a hooked toothfish when it was hauled from the deep," Anderton said.

The fishing crew and a fisheries official on board their ship estimated the length and weight of the squid: Detailed, official measurements have not been made. The date when the colossus was caught also was not disclosed.

Colossal squid, known by the scientific name Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, are estimated to grow up to 46 feet long and have long been one of the most mysterious creatures of the deep ocean.

If original estimates are correct, the squid would be 330 pounds heavier than the next biggest specimen ever found.

"I can assure you that this is going to draw phenomenal interest. It is truly amazing," said Dr. Steve O'Shea, a squid expert at the Auckland University of Technology.

Colossal squid can descend to 6,500 feet and are extremely active, aggressive hunters, he said.

The frozen squid will be transported to New Zealand's national museum, Te Papa, in the capital, Wellington, to be preserved for scientific study.

Marine scientists "will be very interested in this amazing creature as it adds immeasurably to our understanding of the marine environment," Anderton said.

Colossal squid are found in Antarctic waters and are not related to giant squid found round the coast of New Zealand. Giant squid grow up to 39 feet long, but are not as heavy as colossal squid.


http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapc....ap/index.html

Total ownage.

fufu

I saw this earlier, pretty kew.

fufu's 1337 Journal

Your diet will set you free.

IainDaniel

Mmmmm Calamari

Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

Michael Jordan

Spud

So there's a normal squid, then giant, then colossal. What happens when they find a bigger species of squid? Won't they run out of adjectives?

No Milk, no.
Milk is for babies. When you grow up, you have to drink beer.
Please read and comment on my journal

ReproMan

zombul

This leaves us wide open for a Lochness Mosnster Thread.

Vieope

FURtherness

IainDaniel

Obviously you have multiple pages open with your browser and responded in the wrong thread.

Let me see if I can find that any thread for you.

Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

Michael Jordan

Vieope

FURtherness

Witchblade

Squids and octopusi are fucking awesome. Period.

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DOMS

That flesh of that species of squat tastes of ammonia.

maniclion

They could use ginormous or hugantic or gargantuan...

IainDaniel

MMMMM

Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

Michael Jordan

BigDyl

Yeah... until you're 20k leagues under the sea and one of those 50 foot long things is hungry.

Total ownage.

DOMS

Octopuses, rock!!!

Octopuses are one of the few tool using animals on the planet. Their intelligence is thought to by (by some) on par with that of chimpanzees.

From Wiki:

"Octopuses are highly intelligent, probably more intelligent than any other order of invertebrates. The exact extent of their intelligence and learning capability is much debated among biologists,[1][2][3] but maze and problem-solving experiments have shown that they do have both short- and long-term memory. Their short lifespans limit the amount they can ultimately learn. There has been much speculation to the effect that almost all octopus behaviors are independently learned rather than instinct-based, although this remains largely unproven. They learn almost no behaviors from their parents, with whom young octopuses have very little contact.

An octopus has a highly complex nervous system, only part of which is localized in its brain. Two-thirds of an octopus's neurons are found in the nerve cords of its arms, which have a remarkable amount of autonomy. Octopus arms show a wide variety of complex reflex actions arising on at least three different levels of the nervous system. Some octopuses, such as the Mimic Octopus, will move their arms in ways that emulate the movements of other sea creatures.

In laboratory experiments, octopuses can be readily trained to distinguish between different shapes and patterns. They have been reported to practice observational learning, although the validity of these findings is widely contested on a number of grounds. Octopuses have also been observed in what some have described as play: repeatedly releasing bottles or toys into a circular current in their aquariums and then catching them. Octopuses often break out of their aquariums and sometimes into others in search of food. They have even boarded fishing boats and opened holds to eat crabs.

In some countries octopuses are on the list of experimental animals on which surgery may not be performed without anesthesia. In the UK, cephalopods such as octopuses are regarded as honorary vertebrates under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and other cruelty to animals legislation, extending to them protections not normally afforded to invertebrates.

A common belief is that when stressed, an octopus may begin to eat its own arms. However, limited research conducted in this area has revealed that the cause of this abnormal behavior, called autophagy, may be a virus that attacks the octopus's nervous system. Thus this behavior may be more correctly labeled as a neurological disorder."

maniclion

You eat squat? Better not tell Jodi that, because if you eat barely anything how are going to grow?

DOMS

I like any type of Squat so much that I'll even it.

I Are Baboon

Why are they showing its bunghole?

Spud

"A team of revered scientists are undergoing research on the elusive Hugantic Squid, Chiroteuthidae Huganticus. Preliminary studies have shown that ink from Chiroteuthidae Huganticus's bunghole may solve world hunger."

No Milk, no.
Milk is for babies. When you grow up, you have to drink beer.
Please read and comment on my journal

BigDyl

That was moments before the scientist analy raped the dead squid.

Total ownage.

AKIRA

I want to see a full pic of it. Like one of it hanging like a fish to see how large it is completely.

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SheLifts

i actually read an article a few months ago (maybe around christmas) that they caught and filmed the first giant squid. They said now that they know where they actually are in the ocean, it should be easier to find and study them now.

Current 1 Rep Maxes:
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BigDyl

Too bad Steve Irwin isn't still around. He would have definetly tried to swim with Colossal/Giant squid.

Total ownage.

Doublebase

Would he.