The eyes of the same size could have allowed ichthyosaurs, giant marine reptiles that disappeared approximately 90 million years ago, to avoid attacks by even larger fearsome pliosaurs.Īpart from the size, the eyes of the colossal squid also have larger pupils measuring around 80-90 mm across. “It is predation by large toothed whales that have driven the evolution of gigantism in the eyes of these squids,” said Sonke Johnsen, a biologist at Duke University in Durham, US, who was also part of the study of the research team. Thus, the colossal squid gets enough time to escape from its predator. These lights are activated when the sperm whale dives to hunt. The enormous eyes capture the tiny light sources coming from the bioluminescent plankton. The researchers have extensively studied the visual range of this species. It could be related to a greater ability to detect large predators, such as the sperm whale, instead of facilitating prey identification from long distances. The researchers suggest this may have given the species an evolutionary advantage. You can find eyes up to the size of an orange in the sea, like those of the great swordfish.” Professor Nilsson told BBC News. “At first, we were surprised because there were no other eyes in the same size range. There, the scientist examined and handled the eyes – particularly the complex parts of the lens. In 2008, Scientist Dan Nilsson of Lund University in Sweden was present at the only dissection of a colossal squid. Kat Bolstad holding the lens from a colossal squid eye | Image Credit – Norm HekeĬolossal squids have the largest recorded eyes in the entire animal kingdom, with diameters reaching up to 27 cm. However, the colossal male squid uses its arms to support the female while they copulate. The two prehensile tentacles help to hold the prey. The tentacles are approximately 2.1 meters long and have between 22 and 25 hooks that can rotate 360 degrees.
Both structures differ in various aspects.įirst of all, the arms measure up to 1.15 meters and have suction cups and non-rotating hooks. This species, like all squids, has eight arms and two tentacles located in the contour of the mouth opening. It is an animal with a total length of up to 14 meters and a maximum weight of 750 kilograms. The colossal squid is a mollusk belonging to the family of Cranchiidae. The following features of the colossal squid are enough to confirm how much scarier they are for us. They are not even aggressive or fast however, the ancient legends of enormous sea creatures with giant tentacles devouring ships and crew have made these creatures fearsome and scariest for us.Īpart from the legends, their massive size has also made them the scariest creatures. Perimeter making the Colossal Squid the scariest CreatureĪlso referred to as Antarctic squid, an investigation has certified that colossal squid is not fearsome and scariest creatures as we perceive. It remains one of the most mysterious squid species to date for man. There seems to be much respect from both fishermen and researchers regarding the colossal squid. It is currently exhibited in the Te Papa Tongarewa museum. They captured the squid and took it to the ship’s freezer as a sample. The crew was fishing with baited hooks and unexpectedly caught a 500 kg colossal squid nibbling on an Antarctic toothfish to death. The San Aspiring, a New Zealand fishing vessel, caught the colossal squid in February 2007. The largest of all those captured was recorded in 2007 in New Zealand and weighed almost half a ton. Not until 1981 first whole creature was captured alive in a net. They found its arms in the stomach of a dead sperm whale. The researchers first identified the colossal squid in 1925.
Image of colossal squid in New Zealand | Image Credit – Museum of New Zealand
0 kommentar(er)
