The giant squid (genus: Architeuthis) is a deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae, represented by as many as eight species. Giant squid can grow to a tremendous size (see Deep-sea gigantism): recent estimates put the maximum size at 13 m (43 ft) for females and 10 m (33 ft) for males from caudal fin to the tip of the two long tentacles (second only to the colossal squid at an estimated 14 m (46 ft), one of the largest living organisms). The mantle is about 2 m (6.6 ft) long (more for females, less for males), and the length of the squid excluding its tentacles is about 5 m (16 ft). Claims of specimens measuring 20 m (66 ft) or more have not been scientifically documented.
On 30 September 2004, researchers from the National Science Museum of Japan and the Ogasawara Whale Watching Association took the first images of a live giant squid in its natural habitat. Several of the 556 photographs were released a year later. The same team successfully filmed a live adult giant squid for the first time on 4 December 2006.
Read more about Giant Squid: Morphology and Anatomy, Size, Reproductive Cycle, Species, Timeline, Cultural Depictions
Famous quotes containing the words giant and/or squid:
“So in your discussions of the nuclear freeze proposals, I urge you to beware the temptation of pridethe temptation blithely to declare yourselves above it all and label both sides equally at fault, to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire, to simply call the arms race a giant misunderstanding and thereby remove yourself from the struggle between right and wrong, good and evil.”
—Ronald Reagan (b. 1911)
“air or vacuum, snow or shale, squid or wolf, rose or lichen,
each is accepted into as much light as it will take,”
—Archie Randolph Ammons (b. 1926)