The largest squid in the world. Giant squid - photo, description and video. Architeuthis - the largest squid in the world

Since ancient times, myths have circulated among people about giant monsters from the abyss, thirsting for the blood and flesh of sailor travelers. The uncharted depths of the ocean, which could not be conquered then, were the object and main reason inventions, fairy tales and terrible fables concerning him mysterious inhabitants. It is worth saying that even today no one can say for sure that the planet’s water space, the so-called abyss, has been fully studied. Ancient records tell of how monsters with huge tentacles from depths of the sea attacked ships and galleys, taking them with them into the abyss. Those who managed to stay alive after the attack very often embellished their stories about unprecedented creatures, attributing fictitious abilities to the monsters and distorting them appearance. Due to all the above-mentioned factors, it was almost impossible to determine who exactly the wanderers met with.

Today the situation has changed somewhat, and some unusual inhabitants the seas and oceans have become known to mankind. In the article we would like to talk about the largest squid in the world, namely, talk about their distinctive features, characteristic features of the species and provide interesting and reliable facts about the huge sea ​​monsters.

Habitat of huge mollusks

It is known for certain that there are giant squids on earth that live in the depths of the waters of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. Also, these cephalopods can live in seas, both warm and cold. People have more than once managed to catch individuals that could be called the largest squid in the world. Sometimes it even happened that the giant was cut down by the ship's propellers when he tried to attack. However, when such events took place for the first time, humanity did not have the necessary equipment to study the characteristics of the captured animal. Modern technologies allow a thorough study of these living creatures and provide full information about them.

Giant Architeuthis and the first mention of it

One of the most large inhabitants deep ocean is considered to be a giant squid, or architeuthis, as it is called in scientific books. Individuals of this species prefer to be in temperate and sub- tropical latitudes all 4 oceans. Giant squids live at a depth of several kilometers and only sometimes swim to the surface. The first mention of architeuthis occurs at the end of the 19th century. During another sea voyage in 1887, which took place near the coast of New Zealand, sailors discovered a strange and frightening creature. It was not difficult to notice, because the storm waves simply washed the huge mollusk onto land. According to the data that the expedition was able to obtain on the spot, the size of the unusual find was amazing. The length of the monster's body reached incredible dimensions - 17.5 meters, and 5 of them were only tentacles. The mantle of an adult individual was also by no means small - about 2 meters. Unfortunately, it was not possible to establish the exact weight of the sea monster at that time, but judging by the given parameters, it was quite large.

A successful attempt to explore a huge inhabitant of the depths

The next specimen, called one of the largest squids in the world, was discovered in Antarctica 120 years after the first mention of the sea monster. In 2007, fishermen caught a deep-sea inhabitant whose body reached 9 meters in length. Then the weight of the find was easy to establish, because fishing tankers currently have all the necessary equipment for weighing the catch directly on board. Giant squid surprised the crew with its dimensions, since its mass was just over 500 kilograms.

The terrifying Mesonychoteuthis

It is now known for certain that Architeuthis is far from the only species of inhabitants of the depths that frighten humanity with its size. Since time immemorial, there has been another representative on earth giant monsters kind cephalopods- mesonychoteuthis. This giant squid monster is considered one of the largest in modern times. It can be called a close relative of Architeuthis, only it is much more majestic. Mesonychoteuthis is the only representative of its genus, because, unlike Architeuthis, its weight is somewhat larger: the mantle of adult individuals alone reaches a mind-boggling size - its length is equal to four meters. By the way, another name for a giant is colossal.

The contents of the sperm whale's stomach, which revealed new facts to science

The first records of Mesonychoteuthys were made in the early 19th century. British zoologist Robson examined tentacles obtained from the stomach of a sperm whale caught on southern islands Scotland, and came to the conclusion that they could only belong to the above sea ​​giant. Subsequently, for many years, no information regarding cephalopod monster squids was reported.

Great luck for scientists

A significant period of time after Robson’s study of the tentacles of the sea monster, scientists discovered 4 eggs in the far Atlantic, presumably left by mollusks. Having studied their composition and origin, they came to the conclusion that the eggs actually belong to a female squid rare species mesonychoteuthys. Scientific data appeared in 1970, that is, almost 50 years after Robson’s first experiment. The characteristics and features of the surviving masonry were carefully studied by experienced specialists of the time. And 9 years after research work managed to catch an adult specimen of Mesonychoteuthis. Her mantle measured 117 cm in length, and she was the largest female squid in the world.

Bloodthirsty and terrible kraken: fiction or reality?

There are legends about giant squids, whose history goes back to the distant past. Ancient sailors told tales about sea monsters that attacked ships, engulfed them with their tentacles and carried away all living things to the seabed. These mythical creatures at that time were nicknamed krakens. Until the end of the 16th century they were considered fictitious. However, after a while, humanity was convinced of the opposite, because the kraken washed up on the shores of Western Ireland was first found and subsequently presented as an exhibit in the Dublin Museum. By the way, the kraken is the largest squid in the world that science knows today.

Distinctive features of the kraken

The giant mollusk differs from other ocean inhabitants by its head, which has a cylindrical shape, on which is located something resembling bird beak. It is with this that he captures and grinds prey. The eyes of the kraken are considered the largest in comparison with the organs of vision of all other animals living on planet Earth. Their diameter is 25 cm. The color of the creature changes depending on its mood: from dark green to blood red. The largest squid in the world and its peculiarity in the form of a spike-shaped tongue, with which the mollusk pushes prey into the stomach, instills fear even in experienced sailors.

Giants attack people

It is worth noting that the captain of the Norwegian fishing tanker Arne Grönningseter recently told the public amazing story, which touched a huge kraken. According to him, giants pose an incredible danger to people who devote their lives to fishing, or simply those who like to be at sea. The fact is that his ship Brunswick was attacked several times by the aforementioned monster. The captain spoke about the tactics that the mollusk chooses to attack: it first floats to the surface of the water from the abyss, then accompanies the ship for a short time, as if waiting for a certain moment, and then with lightning speed it emerges from the water and pounces on the ship. Only due to the fact that the tentacles of the cephalopod monster could not catch on the surface of the deck and the hull of the ship, the crew managed to escape and remain unharmed in the unequal battle.

Fixed values

If we talk about specific figures that relate to the dimensions of the huge underwater inhabitants, and answer the question about the size of the largest squids in the world (their body length), then it is worth disappointing seekers of such information. To this day, science has not established any specific values. Experts only suggest that the body length of cephalopods that live in the waters of the World Ocean and prefer its very bottom can exceed 50 meters.

Interesting facts about giant squids

There are several exciting and real facts about the life of huge and frightening inhabitants of the depths. We will list only the most interesting of them:

1. Currently, a mammal is known that can attack one of the largest squids in the world (its name is Architeuthis) - the sperm whale. In the old days and to this day, real fights took place between opponents, in which, as a rule, the sperm whale won. It was thanks to the contents of the mammal’s stomach that science was able to establish the very fact of the existence of a deep-sea giant.
2. The first photos of an adult giant squid were taken in Japan. An overgrown mollusk was found on the surface of ocean waters and pulled ashore. It was not possible to keep the exclusive inhabitant of marine fauna alive. The squid died within 24 hours of being removed from the water. Today, the remains of this creature are kept in the Japanese Museum of Nature and Science.
3. The “buoyancy” of the largest squid in the world, the size of which is truly amazing, is due to the content of a solution of aluminum chloride in their body, which has a lower density than sea ​​water. Because of this property that distinguishes it from others sea ​​creatures Having an air bubble, the deep-sea giant squid is unsuitable for human food.
4. The age of squids is determined by their beak.
5. Unlike other deep-sea inhabitants, the brain and nervous system squids are unusually developed and still remain a mystery and a subject of research for scientists and specialists in this field.
6. Despite their impressive size, giant squids can remain invisible to their prey. This is evidenced by the imprints of suckers on the bodies of whales exposed to attacks by these monsters. Scientists have proven that architeuthis, mesonychoteuthys and krakens lead a passive lifestyle. However, when hunting prey, they show activity and resourcefulness.
7. In anticipation of danger colossal squid releases a protective liquid that is lethal to humans and other sea creatures.
8. One suction cup, which is located directly on the tentacles of the giant squid, will hold about 20 liters of water.

Results

In conclusion, I would like to say that it doesn’t matter at all what the world’s largest squid looks like. The stories that sailors told about giant krakens, go back into the distant past. Only facts remain - irrefutable, reliable. But here’s the paradox: some of them still remain a mystery to zoologists. Today, everyone knows only that giant squids are not a fiction, but a reality that is covered in a veil of mystery.

Doctor biological sciences K. NESIS (Institute of Oceanology Russian Academy sciences).

A squid with a body length of about two meters, washed ashore in New Zealand in 1984.

The world map shows where giant squids have been found.

The beak of the giant squid reaches a length of 15 cm.

Giant squid attacks fishermen. Illustration for N. Duncan's story "The Adventures of the Giant Squid" (1940).

What kind of monsters do newspapers and magazines tell us about, what kind of terrifying beasts does the cinema show us! They have one thing in common - no one has ever been able to put them on a laboratory table, measure, weigh, study their structure and exhibit them in a museum. The only exception is the giant squid. Back in 1856, almost a century and a half ago, the famous Danish naturalist Japetus Steenstrup studied the huge beak of a squid washed up on the Danish coast in 1853 and compared it with parts of the body of a squid, which was picked up to the north in 1855 Bahamas, dealt with ancient records about other giant monsters washed up on the shores of Denmark (1545) and Iceland (1639, 1790), and described the mysterious sea monster as a real animal, a giant squid, giving it the name Architeuthis dux (translated as supersquid). prince).

Since then, many have written about the giant squid - from Alexandre Dumas and Jules Verne to Igor Akimushkin. Even James Bond had to escape from the monster's tentacles (in Ian Fleming's story "Dr. No", one of the first Bond films). The 1991 book “The Beast” by Peter Benchley, the author of the famous “Jaws,” became a bestseller. A film was made based on it, shown on screens all over the world. The public's interest continues. It actually comes in waves, fueled either by newspaper reports, or by a new book or film. Recently the video film “Sea Monsters. The Search for the Giant Squid” was released (an hour-long videotape of the National Geographical Society USA) and an interesting popular science book by Richard Ellis with almost the same title - “The Search for the Giant Squid” (New York, 1998). The book is interesting, Ellis sent it to me, thanks to him (the illustrations for the article are partially taken from this book). The author is an artist by profession, but last years writes popular books about the sea - about whales, dolphins, the great white shark, life in the depths of the ocean and, of course, about sea monsters. So the giant squid is right up his alley. I dug through a huge amount of literature! By the way, Ellis, as an artist and connoisseur of giant squids, participated in the creation of - well, what should you call it, not a stuffed one? - say, a model of a giant squid for the Scottish national museum in Edinburgh and painted it with his own hands.

But what is most surprising: until now, giant squids fall into the hands of scientists only dead or dying. Thrown out on sea ​​shores, extracted from the stomachs of sperm whales or caught dead in a trawl. Scientists went to great lengths to, if not catch Architeitis alive, then at least photograph it in its native element: they used both automatic and inhabited deep-sea vehicles, and even television cameras suspended from live sperm whales. The money spent is an abyss, and the result is zero. And in the video there is no living architeitis, only computer models.

I will talk about the giant squid not as a monster, but as a more or less ordinary (or unusual - depending on how you look at it) inhabitant of the World Ocean.

So who is he? The giant squid Architeuthis is a genus of oceanic squid that makes up the independent family Architeuthidae. The world's largest mollusk.

What does he look like? Squid is like squid, only the body is flabby. The tissues are watery, the muscles are weak. The body (in cephalopods it is called the mantle) is narrow, cylindrical in front and conical in back, elongated into a short tail. The fins are small, semi-oval, sit on the body at the point where it meets the tail and do not reach the end of the body a little. The arms (there are eight of them, as befits a squid) are long, weak, the dorsal ones are shorter, and the ventral ones are the longest, which is convenient for an animal that lives near the bottom and catches prey by touch. There are two rows of suction cups on the hands. Plus two tentacles, the longest - 3-5 times longer than the body, with a thin elastic stem and a long, slightly expanded trapping part (club) at the end. The club has four rows of suckers, of which the middle two rows (12-14 pairs) are very large, up to 5 cm in diameter, their horny rings are armed along the entire perimeter with 40-50 identical triangular teeth. Typically, squids have teeth on the side of the suction cup farthest from the head that are much longer and sharper than on the closer side - this is better for holding prey trying to escape. Why is it different for giant squids? Just imagine: the squid grabbed a big one and strong fish, stuck sharp and long “claws” into it - but the fish escapes. And the tentacles are long, thin - at uneven times, and they can tear. It’s better not to tempt fate and have suction cups that can be quickly detached from the prey if necessary. You will remain hungry, but whole.

At the base of the club there is a bunch of 50-100 alternating suckers and tubercles-buttons, like on jackets, and a row of the same suckers and buttons stretches along most of the stem. This - special apparatus to connect both tentacles together so that when the squid swims, they do not dangle haphazardly and interfere with movement. In addition, the tentacles, fastened together at the “wrists,” can act like pincers when grasping prey—the grip is much more reliable.

The head is small. The eyes are very large, the size of an average spotlight (up to 38 cm in diameter). The color is uniformly red-brown or purple, including on the inner surface of the mantle - usually in squids the inside of the mantle is not colored. They can change color, but much worse than ordinary squids. They do not have luminescent organs.

What are the sizes of architeitis? If with tentacles, then the record is 17.4 m. A squid of this size was thrown ashore in 1887 in New Zealand. The one found in 1878 on the coast of Newfoundland turned out to be slightly smaller: 16.8 m with tentacles, including 6.1 m for the body with head and 10.7 m for the tentacles. This is from the Guinness Book of Records. But, when citing impressive figures for the length of the giant squid, the authors of popular books and articles usually do not indicate that the vast majority of this length falls on the thin stalks of the tentacles, and their length is determined by the state of the muscles. Depending on whether the squid was caught by trawl or picked up on the shore, thawed after freezing or immediately put into a barrel of formaldehyde, the length of the tentacles may be a meter or two more or less. Therefore, scientists measure squids along the dorsal side of the body (mantle). The mantle has a rigid support (internal skeletal plate), it will not stretch or shrink. So, the length of the mantle can be up to 5 m. Heaviest weight the animal is supposedly up to a ton. Such large individuals have only been recorded in the North Atlantic in late XIX and the beginning of the 20th century. Typically, female giant squid have a body length of one and a half to two and a half meters and weigh 150-250 kg. Males are smaller, a meter and a half, and much thinner: they weigh only 20-30 kg or a little more.

Well, the smallest of the giant squids - a mature male with a body length of only 18 cm - was extracted from the stomach of a swordfish caught in 1978 in the Strait of Florida. Maybe not in size, but in all other respects it was gigantic.

Where do they live? In temperate and subtropical zones all three oceans. Details are visible on the map.

Young and sub-adult giant squids live in the water column open ocean at depths ranging from a few meters to 500-600 m. Adults are found mainly near the bottom at depths of approximately 100 to 1100 m, most often from 200 to approximately 600 m.

How many species of giant squid are there? Oddly enough, no one knows. For decades, from 1857 to 1935, almost every newly discovered giant squid specimen was described as the new kind and even a genus, so that a total of 8 genera and about 20 species were described, and it was completely unclear how they differed from each other. Then, confused in this diversity, scientists generally stopped defining Architeuthis to species and for more than half a century they have all been simply called Architeuthis sp., that is, Architeuthis is unknown what species. Even the most complete and modern reference book on the taxonomy of cephalopods does not say how many species there are in this genus. No other squid family has such ugliness! In my opinion, the giant squid family includes only one genus and species with three subspecies: North Atlantic, North Pacific and Southern.

And the dwarf giant squid from the Straits of Florida is probably an independent species. Unfortunately, no new information about him has appeared over the past 20 years.

Are they found in our seas? The North Atlantic architeitis has not been recorded in Russian waters, but can be found in the west Barents Sea, since it was recorded near Spitsbergen and northern Norway almost to the North Cape. North Pacific giant squids were seen alive in our waters only once - on the surface of the ocean southeast of Shikotan Island; their length with tentacles was estimated at a glance (from the deck) at 10-12 m. In the late 1940s and 1950s, when we killed whales, the characteristic beaks of Architeitis were often found in the stomachs of all sperm whales Kuril Islands, in the Bering Sea, off the Aleutian Islands and in the Gulf of Alaska. However, deep-sea trawls large enough to catch such a squid have never caught them either in the Bering or Okhotsk Seas, or on the ocean side of Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands. So we can assume that sperm whales devoured them somewhere in the south. But, most likely, they are found in the Kuril Islands.

Why are they so often found washed ashore? Giant squids breed in subtropical waters and fatten up in temperate and subpolar waters of both hemispheres, and mainly immature females participate in long-distance migrations, while males usually do not stray far from the breeding grounds. Migrations to feed occur mainly passively, with warm currents; migrations back to spawning occur actively, against the current. Subtropical in origin, these squids do not tolerate sudden drops in temperature and, having found themselves in cold waters in pursuit of prey, they lose strength, float to the surface of the ocean and drift until they are thrown ashore dead or half-dead. As a result, architeitis finds on the shores are usually close to those places where warm currents meet with cold ones (“polar fronts”), and precisely on the warm side of the fronts. Therefore, in particular, in the Sea of ​​Japan they are often found near Japan and have never been found off the coast of Primorye.

There is a strange and incomprehensible pattern in the washing of giants onto the shores. In previous years, they were most often found in the North Atlantic, especially in Newfoundland. There they (almost entirely females - males rarely go far to the north) were encountered very often in the 1870s, 1900-1910s, 1930s and 1960s, that is, with breaks of about thirty years. From 1964 to 1971, ten finds were noted in Newfoundland, six more in 1975-1982, and from then until 1996 - none. In the Sea of ​​Japan off the coast of Japan, only from December 1974 to March 1976, 13 architeitis were picked up, and after that they were rarely found. The "leader" in recent years has become New Zealand, where giants were often found in 1870-1880, and then much less often. Now again they come across more often. What is the reason? Probably due to some changes in ocean currents.

How do they reproduce? Approximately like all squids. Males mature at small sizes (individuals with a mantle length of 60-70 cm may already be mature). Females mature with a mantle length of one and a half to two meters.

Architeitis eggs are small (2.0-2.5 mm) and very numerous. In the ovary of one far from the largest female, which weighed more than 20 kg, they counted 12 million eggs! No one saw the scooped eggs. They are probably enclosed in voluminous gelatinous egg clutches floating near the bottom. Having swept out the entire supply of eggs, the extremely exhausted female dies and floats to the surface of the ocean. The male, after the only spawning in his life, also dies, but most likely drowns.

A small larva emerges from the egg. So far, only one is known, which was caught at a depth of 20 m off the southeastern coast of Australia; the length of its body was only 1 cm. And the fry of the giant squid fall into the hands of scientists extremely rarely; you can count them on the fingers of one hand. Why this is so - no one knows.

What is their lifestyle like? Architeitis are neutrally buoyant squids (most common squids are heavier than water). They don't sink or float. Neutral buoyancy is ensured by the accumulation in the tissues of a great many small bubbles containing a light, lighter than water, solution of ammonium chloride. Neutral buoyancy is convenient and saves energy. But the bubbles take the place of the muscles, and the tissues become loose and watery. The muscles are only the stems of the tentacles. Therefore, Architeitis are sedentary animals. They do not hunt in pursuit, like wolves, but search for prey or lie in wait for it. But they are able to grab big catch with a sharp throw.

How long do they live? The age of squid, like fish, is determined by the number of daily growth marks ("rings") on auditory pebbles (statoliths) in the inner ear. Such calculations for architeitis gave an unexpected result. It turned out that they live as long as ordinary squid. The age of an immature female with a mantle length of 42 cm, caught off southeastern Australia, was only 5 months, and the age of mature females (161-162 cm), caught from New Zealand and Argentina, and mature males (98-108 cm), caught to the west Ireland - 10-14 months. The fact is that females grow faster. Imagine: from a centimeter-long larva to an animal the size of a man (only in the body, not counting the head and arms!) - and in just a year! Increase your weight by 3-4% per day! So in the first year, female Architeitis may well grow to 160-180 cm, in the second year of life they will mature, spawn and die. Believe it or not, try checking it out...

Who do they eat and who eats them? Architeitis are solitary, not school animals. They appear to mostly swim slowly along the bottom in a jet-like fashion, tail first, with arms and tentacles extended back, or hang in the water with their limbs down, waiting for prey. What they eat is not very well known. In the old days, they picked up a dead squid on the shore, found algae in its stomach - and said: it feeds on algae. And he grabbed them already in agony. We caught a squid with a trawl - in its stomach there are many fish and all sorts of bottom animals, the same ones as in the trawl. Maybe he already ate them in the trawl. If we summarize and analyze all the published information, it turns out that architeitis feeds on various pelagic (living in the water column) and bottom fish and squid, from small to very large. Once the remains of large, muscular and very fast neon squid were found in the stomach, and these tasty animals hunt in the night upper layers water, and during the day they go deeper and seem to fall asleep. This is probably where architeitis catches them.

They have many enemies only in early youth, larvae or juveniles of all kinds predatory fish don't be lazy to eat. Young architeitis are eaten by swordfish, various tuna, sharks, etc. Adult squids have one main enemy- sperm whale. Most sperm whales, especially males (they dive deeper than females and grab larger prey), have sucker scars on their faces, which indicates the squid's desperate but unsuccessful struggle with predators. After all, if you compare by weight, then the sperm whale and the squid are like a man and a cat, the outcome of the fight will not raise any doubts. So all stories about the struggle between two giants, a squid and a sperm whale, end the same way: the sperm whale eats the squid. By the way, the sperm whale feeds mainly on schooling squids, and solitary architeitis in its diet occupy, if we count in quantity, an insignificant place, a fraction of a percent. But in terms of weight - more than significant! Eats Architeitis and sea ​​Elephant. This is also a giant and deep-diving predator.

Who else? You'll never guess - an albatross! The bird, although huge, weighs tens of times less than Architeitis and, moreover, does not know how to dive at all. Still he eats. And although, like the sperm whale, in terms of quantity, architeitis occupy a completely insignificant share in the food of albatrosses, but in terms of weight, especially among wandering albatrosses, sometimes from 10 to 25%. How do birds manage to cope with them? But there’s no need to cope: the albatross is the world’s most perfect soarer, covering hundreds of miles without literally fluttering a wing, and looking out for anything edible on the surface. Birds simply find dying female squids that float to the surface after spawning and peck them. Well, the males, if they actually drown, are eaten at the bottom by all sorts of crustaceans and snails.

Is the giant squid dangerous for humans? This question is often asked, but for some reason they do not ask: where and how can a person and architeitis meet? A person ends up at a depth of hundreds of meters, either protected by the strong metal of the underwater vehicle, or already by a corpse. And architeitis also falls into the human sphere - to the shore and surface - in the form of a corpse or in agony. A sperm whale's dream, these squids are completely inedible for humans. The meat is sour and stinks of ammonia. It’s like boiling cotton wool soaked in a mixture of ammonia and sea ​​water. May countless authors forgive me fantastic stories about sea monsters, but, it seems to me, a squid can harm a person only if a person, having found a dying squid in the sea, which the birds have not yet had time to notice and peck at, tries to drag a carcass weighing a couple of centners into the boat, and is killed overboard. But here the squid cannot be called to blame. In 1994, near the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands), tourists admiring the whales saw Architeitis floating on the surface and caught a half-dead monster weighing 175 kg. It's good that they had a big boat!

So, the search for the giant squid is not over yet. Living giant in natural environment no one has seen the habitat yet. But now it seems to be just a matter of time and money. We know where to look for it, we just need to figure out how to film it easier. Hopefully we'll soon see the Architeti himself on TV news. And then, you see, it will come to a marine aquarium.

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, the maximum length of the giant squid from the tips of its fins to the ends of its hunting tentacles reaches 16.5 meters. 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 the National Science Museum of Japan, for the first time in the history of studying this species, obtained 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 him huge 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 with quite high speed, filling the mantle with water and tensing his 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 off 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 another characteristic feature of the 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 seawater. 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 by ocean currents. Based on the same data, we can say that currently there is one global population 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 South Africa. In the Pacific Ocean, giant squids are found near 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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About squid

Squids are cephalopods. They live in the seas and in all oceans. Types of squid living in northern latitudes, in particular in the waters of the Northern Arctic Ocean, are small in size and, in most cases, colorless. Other species also do not have bright colors, often these are pale colors - pinkish, bluish.

The exact number of squid species is unknown, as many species live at great depths, making research difficult.

The average size of all squid is about 25 - 50 cm, with the exception of giant squid. The size of the giant squid can be terrifying: its body length reaches 18 m, and 12 m is just the tentacles. When you see such a creature, you involuntarily remember films about sea monsters.

As for the body structure, it is similar in most species of squid. The body shape is elongated, somewhat reminiscent of a torpedo. The body of a squid, like the body of an octopus, is called a mantle in which the internal organs are enclosed.

Ahead is a large head with big eyes. The head is equipped with ten tentacles, two of which are near the mouth, that is, in the center, and have more powerful suction cups than on the other tentacles. The jaws are beak-shaped, which allows the squid to tear pieces off its prey.

Squids are predators and therefore hunt for their prey. They can attack schools of swimming fish, with lightning speed, pouncing on the victim, the squid is able to bite its spine in a matter of seconds. Various plankton, other types of squid, and some mollusks are also obtained for food.

Thanks to the shape of its body, the squid is able to move quickly, as if cutting through the water column. Acceleration is achieved through a special siphon (tube), from which water comes out with powerful pushes. To change the direction of movement, you just need to turn the siphon. Squids can reach speeds exceeding 50 km/h, and flying squids can reach speeds of up to 70 km/h.

Sometimes squid, like jet engines, rush through a school of fish and simply tear off a piece of flesh from them: “even if I don’t eat it, I’ll bite it.” The fish eventually dies.

Many species have on their body something like wing-fins, which are used as a balance when swimming. Making a powerful push, the squid jumps out of the water and, spreading its tentacles and wings, glides over the water. They are also called flying squids.

A feature of some types of squid can be considered the ability to glow in the dark, due to the bacteria found in the tissues of these creatures. They use the glow as protection from enemies - suddenly lighting up in a bright color, the surprise plunges the enemy into a kind of stupor and the squid has the opportunity to quickly retreat.

Also, squids, like octopuses, can release ink for protection. To save their lives, squids often resort to escape by jumping out of the water and flying over the water, that is, disappearing from the enemy’s field of view.

Squids reproduce by laying eggs. After the male fertilizes the female, by transferring a spermatophore - a packet of sperm, the female places it next to the eggs, which she lays on seabed, or attaches to algae. During one clutch, the saka lays about two dozen eggs.

The eggs are elongated cylindrical in shape and have White color. The ripening period is one month and a half.

The life span of a squid is short. On average they live about 2 – 3 years.

Squid large species live solitary, small ones living in the upper layers of water, gather in flocks.

Since ancient times, myths have circulated among people about giant monsters from the abyss, thirsting for the blood and flesh of sailor travelers. The uncharted depths of the ocean, which could not be conquered then, were the object and main reason for inventions, fairy tales and terrible fables concerning its mysterious inhabitants. It is worth saying that even today no one can say for sure that the planet’s water space, the so-called abyss, has been fully studied. Ancient records tell how monsters with huge tentacles from the depths of the sea attacked ships and galleys, carrying them into the abyss. Those who managed to stay alive after the attack very often embellished their stories about unprecedented creatures, attributing fictitious abilities to the monsters and distorting their appearance. Due to all the above-mentioned factors, it was almost impossible to determine who exactly the wanderers met with.

Today the situation has changed somewhat, and mankind has learned a lot about some unusual inhabitants of the seas and oceans. In the article we would like to talk about the largest squid in the world, namely, talk about their distinctive features, the characteristic features of the species and provide interesting and reliable facts about the huge sea monsters.

Habitat of huge mollusks

It is known for certain that there are giant squids on earth that live in the depths of the waters of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. Also, these cephalopods can live in seas, both warm and cold. People have more than once managed to catch individuals that could be called the largest squid in the world. Sometimes it even happened that the giant was cut down by the ship's propellers when he tried to attack. However, when such events took place for the first time, humanity did not have the necessary equipment to study the characteristics of the captured animal. Modern technologies make it possible to thoroughly examine these living creatures and provide complete information about them.

Giant Architeuthis and the first mention of it

One of the largest inhabitants of the ocean depths is considered to be the giant squid, or Architeuthis, as it is called in scientific books. Individuals of this species prefer to be in temperate and subtropical latitudes of all 4 oceans. Giant squids live at a depth of several kilometers and only sometimes swim to the surface. The first mention of architeuthis occurs at the end of the 19th century. During another sea voyage in 1887, which took place near the coast of New Zealand, sailors discovered a strange and frightening creature. It was not difficult to notice, because the storm waves simply washed the huge mollusk onto land. According to the data that the expedition was able to obtain on the spot, the size of the unusual find was amazing. The length of the monster's body reached incredible dimensions - 17.5 meters, and 5 of them were only tentacles. The mantle of an adult individual was also by no means small - about 2 meters. Unfortunately, it was not possible to establish the exact weight of the sea monster at that time, but judging by the given parameters, it was quite large.

A successful attempt to explore a huge inhabitant of the depths

The next specimen, called one of the largest squids in the world, was discovered in Antarctica 120 years after the first mention of the sea monster. In 2007, fishermen caught a deep-sea inhabitant whose body reached 9 meters in length. Then the weight of the find was easy to establish, because fishing tankers currently have all the necessary equipment for weighing the catch directly on board. The giant squid surprised the crew with its size, as its mass was just over 500 kilograms.

The terrifying Mesonychoteuthis

It is now known for certain that Architeuthis is far from the only species of inhabitants of the depths that frighten humanity with its size. Since time immemorial, there has been another representative of giant monsters of the cephalopod species on earth - mesonychoteuthis. This giant squid monster is considered one of the largest in modern times. It can be called a close relative of Architeuthis, only it is much more majestic. Mesonychoteuthis is the only representative of its genus, because, unlike Architeuthis, its weight is somewhat larger: the mantle of adult individuals alone reaches a mind-boggling size - its length is equal to four meters. By the way, another name for a giant is colossal.

The contents of the sperm whale's stomach, which revealed new facts to science

The first records of Mesonychoteuthys were made in the early 19th century. British zoologist Robson examined tentacles taken from the stomach of a sperm whale caught on the southern islands of Scotland and came to the conclusion that they could only belong to the aforementioned sea giant. Subsequently, for many years, no information regarding cephalopod monster squids was reported.

Great luck for scientists

A significant period of time after Robson’s study of the tentacles of the sea monster, scientists discovered 4 eggs in the far Atlantic, presumably left by mollusks. Having studied their composition and origin, they came to the conclusion that the eggs actually belonged to a female squid of a rare species, mesonychoteuthis. Scientific data appeared in 1970, that is, almost 50 years after Robson’s first experiment. The characteristics and features of the surviving masonry were carefully studied by experienced specialists of the time. And 9 years after the research work, it was possible to catch an adult specimen of mesonychoteuthis. Her mantle measured 117 cm in length, and she was the largest female squid in the world.

Bloodthirsty and terrible kraken: fiction or reality?

There are legends about giant squids, whose history goes back to the distant past. Ancient sailors told tales about sea monsters that attacked ships, engulfed them with their tentacles and carried away all living things to the seabed. These mythical creatures at that time were nicknamed krakens. Until the end of the 16th century they were considered fictitious. However, after a while, humanity was convinced of the opposite, because the kraken washed up on the shores of Western Ireland was first found and subsequently presented as an exhibit in the Dublin Museum. By the way, the kraken is the largest squid in the world that science knows today.

Distinctive features of the kraken

The giant mollusk differs from other ocean inhabitants by its head, which has a cylindrical shape, on which is located something resembling a bird’s beak. It is with this that he captures and grinds prey. The eyes of the kraken are considered the largest in comparison with the organs of vision of all other animals living on planet Earth. Their diameter is 25 cm. The color of the creature changes depending on its mood: from dark green to blood red. The largest squid in the world and its peculiarity in the form of a spike-shaped tongue, with which the mollusk pushes prey into the stomach, instills fear even in experienced sailors.

Giants attack people

It is worth noting that the captain of a Norwegian fishing tanker, Arne Grönningseter, recently told the public an amazing story about a huge kraken. According to him, giants pose an incredible danger to people who devote their lives to fishing, or simply those who like to be at sea. The fact is that his ship Brunswick was attacked several times by the aforementioned monster. The captain spoke about the tactics that the mollusk chooses to attack: it first floats to the surface of the water from the abyss, then accompanies the ship for a short time, as if waiting for a certain moment, and then with lightning speed it emerges from the water and pounces on the ship. Only due to the fact that the tentacles of the cephalopod monster could not catch on the surface of the deck and the hull of the ship, the crew managed to escape and remain unharmed in the unequal battle.

Fixed values

If we talk about specific figures that relate to the dimensions of huge underwater inhabitants, and answer the question about the size of the largest squid in the world (their body length), then we should disappoint seekers of such information. To this day, science has not established any specific values. Experts only suggest that the body length of cephalopods that live in the waters of the World Ocean and prefer its very bottom can exceed 50 meters.

Interesting facts about giant squids

There are several fascinating and real facts about the life of the huge and frightening inhabitants of the depths. We will list only the most interesting of them:

1. Currently, a mammal is known that can attack one of the largest squids in the world (its name is Architeuthis) - the sperm whale. In the old days and to this day, real fights took place between opponents, in which, as a rule, the sperm whale won. It was thanks to the contents of the mammal’s stomach that science was able to establish the very fact of the existence of a deep-sea giant.
2. The first photos of an adult giant squid were taken in Japan. An overgrown mollusk was found on the surface of ocean waters and pulled ashore. It was not possible to keep the exclusive inhabitant of marine fauna alive. The squid died within 24 hours of being removed from the water. Today, the remains of this creature are kept in the Japanese Museum of Nature and Science.
3. The “buoyancy” of the largest squid in the world, the size of which is truly amazing, is due to the content of an aluminum chloride solution in their body, which has a lower density than sea water. Because of this property, which distinguishes it from other marine life that has an air bubble, the deep-sea giant squid is unsuitable for human food.
4. The age of squids is determined by their beak.
5. Unlike other deep-sea inhabitants, the brain and nervous system of squids are unusually developed and still remain a mystery and a subject of research for scientists and specialists in this field.
6. Despite their impressive size, giant squids can remain invisible to their prey. This is evidenced by the imprints of suckers on the bodies of whales exposed to attacks by these monsters. Scientists have proven that architeuthis, mesonychoteuthys and krakens lead a passive lifestyle. However, when hunting prey, they show activity and resourcefulness.
7. In anticipation of danger, the colossal squid releases a protective fluid that is fatal to humans and other sea creatures.
8. One suction cup, which is located directly on the tentacles of the giant squid, will hold about 20 liters of water.

Results

In conclusion, I would like to say that it doesn’t matter at all what the world’s largest squid looks like. The stories that sailors told about giant krakens go back to the distant past. Only facts remain - irrefutable, reliable. But here’s the paradox: some of them still remain a mystery to zoologists. Today, everyone knows only that giant squids are not a fiction, but a reality that is covered in a veil of mystery.