Most big size giant squid, recorded by humans, was 17.4 m. But, despite this, scientists are inclined to think that this record is atypical for the main representatives of the genus of giant squid. The largest average size among mollusks is recorded among colossal squids. The length of the mantle of colossal squids is 2 times greater than that of giant squids.

The history of the study of the giant squid began in 1856 when a Danish scientist Japetus Steenstrup compared the size of the beak of a mollusk washed up on the coast of Denmark with the proportions of ordinary squid and became convinced that it could only belong to a huge animal. Having analyzed the facts of the discovery of huge parts of squid, as well as ancient legends of meeting with sea ​​monsters, the scientist suggested that the giant squid really exists and described it in his works, giving it a name Architeuthis dux, which means "super squid prince".

But a live giant squid has never fallen into the hands of people. There were no photographs, much less video recordings, and all information about the giants was known only from the remains. The first meeting with a giant mollusk recorded on film occurred in 2006, when a 7 m long architeuthis was caught. The expedition was led by a Japanese biologist Tsunami Kubodera. The specimen caught was a female, lured from the depths by a small squid used as bait. However, it was not possible to take the giant alive - he died from numerous injuries received while climbing onto the ship.

A little earlier, in 2004, the same scientist first photographed a living giant squid at depth. These photographs were the first photographs of living Architeuthis.

There is an opinion that the giant squid acts as an aggressor only in relation to its victims - various fish. However, humans have witnessed at least two instances of giant squid engaging in combat with sperm whales. In the first case, Soviet sailors saw a fight between a sperm whale and a squid, and there was no winner in the battle, because The sperm whale, having swallowed the body of the squid, suffocated in the arms of the tentacles of the half-dead Architeuthis.

The second case was recorded near the lighthouse in South Africa, when a giant squid fought with a baby sperm whale for an hour and a half, eventually defeating it.

For what reason squids engage in battle with sperm whales is not entirely clear. It is likely that sperm whales are, after all, the first to fight with mollusks, which constitute their main diet.

Video

Giant squid captured by deep-sea research vessel

Giant squid Architeuthis

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, maximum length The giant squid reaches 16.5 meters from the tips of its fins to the ends of its hunting tentacles. 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 received the first photographs of a live 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 giant squid's tentacles are covered with inside with hundreds of hemispherical suction cups. 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 away predators.

The giant squid's brain is quite complex, and its nervous system is highly organized. Both are the subject of great and close interest from scientists. It is also worth noting one more characteristic feature 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 gray, which is much more important in extremely low light conditions.

Like other large squid species, the giant squid has zero buoyancy in sea ​​water. 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 large 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. Weight Limit 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.

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 using ocean currents. Based on the same data, we can say that currently there is one global population of 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 others large fish can eat juvenile giant squid. Researchers are currently attempting to use natural enemies giant squid - sperm whales - for observing squids.

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 Atlantic Ocean(British Isles, Norway, Newfoundland) and in the south Atlantic - in the area of ​​​​South Africa. IN 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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Among the inhabitants of the deep sea, the giant squid is the most mysterious and little-studied representative. The first information about it dates back to the 4th century BC. A scientific description of the animal was compiled by Danish scientists in 1857. The study of parts of a dead individual began in 1861, when the sailors of a French ship managed to get them during one of their voyages.

Why giant

All individuals have a mantle 2.5 meters long, which helps them move quite quickly

Today the giant squid is the most major representative invertebrates. Maximum size from the tip of the limbs to the end of the small fins is about 8 meters.

If you do not take into account the hunting tentacles, the body of this inhabitant depths of the sea often reaches 5 m. Appearance The giant squid is almost no different from ordinary representatives of the Mollusc type, the only difference being its enormous size.

Features of the giant squid

The huge squid is an invertebrate animal that lives in the oceans at great depths. It belongs to the phylum Mollusca, class Cephalopods, genus Architeutis (it constitutes an independent family called Architeutidae).

Miracle Tentacles

The animal's eyes reach 27–29 cm in diameter, and the pupil is 9–10. During research, it was found that these mollusks do not distinguish colors, but are able to see the slightest glow with minimal lighting at great depths.

A representative of the class Cephalopods has a massive beak, inside of which is a tongue or radula. To orient themselves in space, individuals use special organs called statocysts. Almost all mollusks have similar ones. They contain statoliths.

Where does it live?

The study of this amazing invertebrate animal continues today.

The giant squid is an unusual mollusk, distinguished by its large size, unique structure, hunting method and the most developed nervous system among representatives of the class Cephalopods.