Scientists snap first film of giant squid in action

A team of scientists and broadcasters have captured the first images of a giant squid swimming and feeding in its natural environment. "It was shining and so beautiful. I was so thrilled when I saw it first hand," Tsunemi Kubodera, a researcher at Japan's National Science Museum told AFP. "Researchers around the world have …

[Big-nosed Pengie]

The missing tentacles were undoubtedly harvested for "scientific research".

And sushi.

[Grave]

just like whales. inhumane.

[Silverburn]

Point of order: Calamari, surely?

And I had exactly the same thoughts re: Japanese research btw.

[Rich 2]

Calamari? I think not

Squid this size are full of ammonia. You wouldn't want to eat it

[tmTM]

"Kubodera offered no explanation for how the tentacles had been severed"

but noted that they were delicious.

[ian 22]

Re: "Kubodera offered no explanation for how the tentacles had been severed"

When I were a wee bairn, I explored the world by tasting it. Much as the Japanese.

[frank ly]

"It was shining and so beautiful....."

So they hooked it and dragged it to the surface where it died. Hmmmmmm.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: "So they hooked it and dragged it to the surface where it died. "

... that srface footage was tagged "archive"; so I don't think these scientists did that (in this case)

[Code Monkey]

Re: "So they hooked it and dragged it to the surface where it died. "

From the article: "The squid was then hooked and taken to the surface for measurement."

[Gordon 10]

Re: "So they hooked it and dragged it to the surface where it died. "

Anglers do this all the time and let the fish go. Lets not assume the researchers killed the squid without some clear evidence.

[Marvin the Martian]

Re: "Let's not assume without evidence "

Evidence comes either from observation, or is from reasoning. So:

(a) It would be futile to let it go, given that it's hunting device (two extra long tentacles) are missing --- at best it gets eaten by a whale, at worst it dies from starvation. There is no humane nor scientific reason to let it go.

(b) It's a museum. It collects specimens, it's its raison d'etre.

[Graham Wilson]

@ gordon 10 -- Re: "So they hooked it and dragged it to the surface where it died. "

The pressure at the surface is very different to its normal habitat in the deep. Thus, it would have died anyway (as do most deep-sea creatures when raised to the surface).

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: "It was shining and so beautiful....."

Join the Japanese Marine research institute

Travel to exotic places

Find rare and beautiful creatures

And kill them and eat them

[Anonymous Coward]

Why does this story keep reappearing everywhere?

Or is it different from the one that Discovery Channel published a month ago?

[michaelkav]

YUM YUM TUM TUM

Probably they are researching if they can eat it. ;)

[Denarius]

Re: YUM YUM TUM TUM

Done that, got the guts ache. Results: bloody awful. The ammonium molecules used to balance density give Krakens a foul taste. Source : New Scientist or Scientific Amerikan about 6 years ago.

[Marvin the Martian]

Re: YUM YUM TUM TUM

I'm sure you can wash that ammonia out. Like you do with dogfish?

[Herby]

So, Calamari is...

...on the menu at the restaurant tonight?

Me? I just prefer a Cheeseburger and fries, thank you!

[Graham Dawson]

I remember when everyone claimed these giant squid were just a myth. Happy days.

[Dave 126]

Or when they decorated maps. Google maps is lacking in this respect. Maybe someone has already created a "Here be monsters" overlay for Google Earth...

[Magani]

"...these giant squid were just a myth."

Because they're so rare, discovering one is a bit hit or myth?

Mine's the one with the calamari and.chips...

[Scott Earle]

Three meters?

What did they measure?

[Derezed]

Re: Three meters?

...and was it from the balls or the base?

[P. Lee]

Didn't Discovery do a disection recently?

Blue blood based on copper rather than red blood based on iron, but it goes clear after death.

Cool and interesting, even to vegetarians.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Hmm...

At first glance they look like a cheap pet for a supervillian, but then you see how much the replacement ink costs.

It has The Kraken Wakes in a pocket.

[Code Monkey]

Re: Hmm...

Cheap pet for a supervillain or the ULTIMATE AQUATIC PLATFORM FOR A FRICKIN LASER?

[Mystic Megabyte]

Researchers, what would you do without them?

Like the ones researching a troupe of rare desert baboons. They shot the alpha male with a tranquilliser dart whereupon it fell off a cliff and died. Now *extremely* rare!

<===== the rare desert penguin

[Code Monkey]

Re: Researchers, what would you do without them?

the rare desert penguin

Humboldt penguins are quite common in the Atacama desert

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/humboldt-penguins-in-the-atacama-desert/8992.html

[Mayhem]

Re: Researchers, what would you do without them?

That's pure awesome right there. Sure, easy enough to live in a cold desert like Antarctica, but colour me impressed at the temperature regulation ability to cope with cold swimming environments and a hot living space.

Maybe Madagascar isn't so far fetched after all. Keep these guys away from engineering manuals!

(Cue reference to the Japanese one that scaled a 13ft wall to go swimming in Tokyo Bay)

[Anonymous Coward]

..." can grow up to 12–14 m (39–46 feet) long (although the largest specimen yet found was a tiddler at 10 meters "

err, if the largest one ever found was 10m long what makes them think they can grow to 14m long?

[Yesnomaybe]

From the scars the tooth-lined suction-cups leave on whales. That's how we know they can get considerably bigger than the ones we have seen in the flesh.

[Anonymous Coward]

Good answer.

[Marvin the Martian]

What makes them think that they can grow bigger?

From the fact that the 10m specimen was a juvenile and clearly had to grow a bit more. And from other bits found in whales and washed up on beaches (like arms and suckers, eyes, ... ) of larger size.

[jai]

I see posts above about large amounts of ammonia, really, that's depressing?

Surely this is undeniable evidence AGAINST the existence of Intelligent Design or a supreme being, no?

What intelligent being would possibly consider creating all that squid just dying to be cooked in batter and then make it inedible???

So much calimari, such little chips and lemon juice...

[Anonymous Coward]

The squid's edible to whales and whales are edible to us, and much tastier than squid.

[Great Bu]

Tastier than squid......

Whale is definitely tastier than squid, but I always found sperm whale to be a bit salty....

[John Smith 19]

Next week the "Giant Squid Quest" team attempt to discover

How to cook it so the Ammonia is washed out.

And remember giant squid attacks on humans are very rare.

[JDX]

<shudder>

[JimmyPage]

Once again, a reminder

we have no idea what's in our own oceans. More people have been to the moon than to the deepest ocean floor.

[Great Bu]

Re: Once again, a reminder

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60BjkUtqxPE

[Tom 38]

Re: Once again, a reminder

More people have been to the moon than to the deepest ocean floor.

More living people, definitely.

[jai]

Re: Once again, a reminder

Also pertinent: more people have died swimming in the ocean than those that have while standing on the moon.

[Kubla Cant]

Calamari

... usually comes in rings. In this case they're going to be the size and consistency of tractor tyres.

[Thorne]

Re: Calamari

But it will be all you can eat...

[MaxHertz]

self-aligning hooks

The hooks on the arms of giant squids are free to rotate in a socket (somewhat like a castor) so that they self-align, when pulled, to the optimal orientation for gabbing prey. Presumably this means that they can firmly grab something even if it brushes past perpendicular to the squid's arm.

http://squid.tepapa.govt.nz/images/gallery/anatomy/article-03/tentacles/image-01.jpg

[FlyingPhil]

Re: self-aligning hooks

That is quite an extraordinary adaptation. Creepy, too. I saw these things being spun around by hand on a tv documentary a while ago.

I can't think of any other animal with a freely-rotating-type thing on their body? Humans manage it with piercings, but that's about it.

[Pirate Dave]

Proposed new El Reg Standard

Perhaps our Standards Soviet could consider a new unit for measuring these giant squid. Instead of measuring their lenght in the old units of meters or feet, these enormo squid should be measured by volume in "JapaneseStomachs".

For example - "That juvenile Giant Squid we caught with our submersible was about 872 JapaneseStomachs. And it was tender and delicious".

Or perhaps - "That crusty, old Giant Squid was a monster. 3213 JapaneseStomachs at least, but way too tangy to actually eat."

[Steve Mann]

Bah!

"teethed" isn't a real word.