Today is the time to talk about it giant squid, an animal with many myths and little real knowledge, because it is very rare to find a specimen and much less to be able to study its way of life. especially since they usually live in the deepest areas of the oceans.
There are many riddles that surround these molluscs, since while swimming in the depths of the seas they do not approach the surface or the coast, and their sightings are a real rarity. When captured, they are usually in poor condition, dying or dead. Several Spanish expeditions have attempted filming on the coast of Asturias giant squid.
Is it the same species that lives in these fishing grounds as the species observed in Japan?
The name giant squid is only mentioned Chief architect, which is the Latin name for the squid prince. That calamargigante It can be 14 meters long and weigh 250 kg. It has a global distribution and is cosmopolitan, a fact demonstrated by genetics in a 2013 study in which I participated. Therefore, the giant squids that appeared in Asturias and those in Japan are of the same species.
Different types of giant squid How many large species are there?
There are more calamari with other names. Him, for example calamari colossal of Antarctica (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) can weigh 450 kg and be 10 meters long. He is shorter and heavier than the giant. There is also calamari the ones people call giants, but they aren’t, like the Humboldt or the calamari cat, which is not heavier than 100 kg and not longer than 3 meters. We cover them all in the book Giants of the deep. Collectively they are nothing more than cephalopods, animals that have their legs on their heads.
What characteristics does a giant squid have, besides different genetics?
He giant squid He doesn’t live in Antarctica. It differs from the colossal in its distribution, because it does not live in cold water, but in temperate water. In addition, the giant is not edible, because it contains a lot of ammonia; and they say the colossal is excellent – some of my colleagues have tried it. On the other hand, because the colossal does not have such long tentacles, it appears to be pouncing on its prey. The giant, on the other hand, has enormous tentacles up to 6 meters long and grabs prey from a distance. What we don’t know about either is how they mate or how they lay their eggs.
The movies portray them as aggressive beasts, right?
Neither of these two appear to be aggressive. However, the calamari Humboldt, who is smaller and weighs up to 90 kg – Americans call him gigantic – is aggressive and attacks. It is located on the coasts of California, Mexico and Chile; and it is also very edible. 600,000 tons are caught and imported to Spain every year. You’ve probably eaten it in slices.
What legend has arisen about the giant squid?
The legend started with the Romans and lasted until it was discovered in 1857 that they were giant squids. Even in the 19th century they began to appear stranded on the beaches. XVI they brought one to the king of Denmark that smelled of death. The Kraken Myth [criatura marina mitológica] It was created by the Scandinavians in the Middle Ages. It was the biologist Japetus Steenstrup who, based on some pieces in the Natural History Museum in Copenhagen, made this squat the prince of the world. calamari and described it as a cephalopod. From a legend it was considered a real animal. A French ship captured one near Tenerife.
Is it common for them to occur in the Canary Islands?
There is enough giant squid On these islands they are eaten by sperm whales and pilot whales. However, we know the colossal from the Spanish, Korean and Japanese fishermen who fish in Antarctica.
Why is it so difficult to capture them in the marine environment?
He giant squid It lives at depths between 250 and 1500 meters, and those in Antarctica between 800 and 1500 meters. Attempts have been made to film them in the Azores since 1996, then in Australia, New Zealand and Asturias (2001 and 2002), but only succeeded in Japan in 2012, thanks to a manned mini-submarine that recorded them. at a depth of 630 meters.