Really amazing that animals like this still exist and remain a mystery...and there's still the Collasal Squid to be seen alive yet!
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Great! Of all countries it had to be the japanese that found the thing.
It will now either be eaten, raped or persuaded into destroying one of their cities. Posted by The Ginger Beacon (Member # 1585) on :
I feel a bit sorry for the poor bugger - first the researcers had it on the end of the line for over 4 hours. Now any angler will tell you that's a hell of a long time to play a fish...
And then, to add injury to insult, they make off with 5 1/2 m of its tentacle!
Oh well, fried squid anybody?
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
I have a sudden craving for Scorpion Maki...
(It has squid in it...)
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Mmm. . . extreme Calamari. . .
Posted by Wraith (Member # 779) on :
Well, this clears the way for Channel Five to make 'Extreme Celebrity Giant Calamari Live.'
That's assuming they haven't already made it.
It's either that or 'Hitler's Giant Squid.'
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
They made a rather bad TV-movie about big squids in the 1990's, with that retard from "LA Law". The acting and visual squid-FX were laughable but the opening sequence, showing two shredded and gutted scuba divers, was frightfully realistic.
I honestly think being caught by one of these is worse than meeting a great white or getting caught in the gears of a combine.
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
Yes... but why would the bodies of the divers have washed up? Would the beastie not have devoured its prey? Surely they don't make movies suggesting that large sea creatures would attack humans out of some kind of murderous pschological schism...
Posted by The Ginger Beacon (Member # 1585) on :
Especialy not such esteemed directors as Mr Spielberg.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
This squid was 900 meters down and no one's ever seen a live one go up to the surface and eat birds or hassle sailors. So where do the old Kraken-stories and other tales and paintings of squid attacks come from? Why did squids supposedly do it then and not now? I'm thinking either A:, they've gotten smarter, just like wood animals shun us nowadays where 15000 years ago they let us stroll up to them, not knowing the scent or sound of a human.
Or B:, the squids never attacked humans in medieval and renaissance times, some sailors just found a few washed-up squids and started fantasizing about one of them hitting a boat.
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
Ooh.. I like his happy dance.
Posted by Toadkiller (Member # 425) on :
I can't imagine they're very friendly - but coming up in one piece from 900 meters is a neat trick. Though of course whales do it, so maybe. I'll have to ask my marine biologist wife....
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
If she does not know, you can bring it up whenever you're losing an argument.
"Yeah well...you did not know about that giant squid thing!"
Oh yeah- it's win/win for you.*
*Win/Win meaning that you'll be sleeping alone on the sofa, at best. Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
quote:Originally posted by Nim: This squid was 900 meters down and no one's ever seen a live one go up to the surface and eat birds or hassle sailors. So where do the old Kraken-stories and other tales and paintings of squid attacks come from? Why did squids supposedly do it then and not now? I'm thinking either A:, they've gotten smarter, just like wood animals shun us nowadays where 15000 years ago they let us stroll up to them, not knowing the scent or sound of a human.
Or B:, the squids never attacked humans in medieval and renaissance times, some sailors just found a few washed-up squids and started fantasizing about one of them hitting a boat.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
quote:Originally posted by Nim: This squid was 900 meters down and no one's ever seen a live one go up to the surface and eat birds or hassle sailors. So where do the old Kraken-stories and other tales and paintings of squid attacks come from? Why did squids supposedly do it then and not now? I'm thinking either A:, they've gotten smarter, just like wood animals shun us nowadays where 15000 years ago they let us stroll up to them, not knowing the scent or sound of a human.
Or B:, the squids never attacked humans in medieval and renaissance times, some sailors just found a few washed-up squids and started fantasizing about one of them hitting a boat.
Basically - anything that lives at such depths would probably explosively decompress at sea-level.
They have found SOME giant squids washed up on shore but they are either dead or pretty much dead - how they have come to arrive at higher regions than they live is a mystery. Maybe spat out by a whale!?!
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Or fished up during the rare sea-going voyages.
Or there was a species of the giant squid that lived then but not now.
Or there is another kind of giant squid that is large enough to kick Godzilla's ass and it's just waiting for TEH END TIMES! You know, to kill off the queers or some crazy thing.
Posted by Balaam Xumucane (Member # 419) on :
Squid are indeed projected to make out like bandits in warmer, overfished waters.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Bcak in Jr High school, I discected a squid in biology class. We had to pierce it's ink sac and sign our names with it's feather-like psydo-spine.
Any time I can pierce a sac or rip out a spine without police involvment, it's cool.
Overfishing wont help the Giant Squids any- some of the smaller critters in their food chain probably live off remains that fall to the bottom.
It's not known exactly what they eath though- something fairly large to be certain (to support it's size) or a lot of smaller fish (but squid are not equiped for mass feedings like whales).
There may be an entire new species of fish that we have not seen that serves as primary squid food.
![[Frown]](frown.gif)