April 30, 2008 -- In February 2007, a colossal squid eating an Antarctic toothfish was accidentally caught by New Zealand fishermen working in the Ross Sea.
The 1,102-pound, net-entrapped squid was already near death, but the fishermen didn't want to waste it. They hauled it onboard and managed to get it into their ship's freezer. New Zealand's Ministry of Fisheries later gifted the frozen squid to The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa.
On Monday of this week, the popsicle-like squid was removed from a freezer at Te Papa and placed in a saline solution to thaw. Discovery News' Jennifer Viegas spoke with the director of the squid project, Te Papa's director of Natural Environment, Carol Diebel, as she took a break after spending hours hovering near the marine monster.
Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News: Please update us as to what's happening now with the squid.
Carol Diebel: Although we started the thaw on Monday, the squid's tentacles and arms are still thawing out and its body is frozen in the middle. It is almost in a straight position, but not quite. We need to have the colossal squid perfectly straight so that we can take accurate measurements of it. We know that it is at least around 20-feet long, but we won't know precisely until the squid is fully extended.
JV: Could this be the world's largest known colossal squid?
CD: As far as we know, yes. Another colossal was caught in Russia, but little information was released about it. At Te Papa, we also have a colossal squid that was collected in 2003. It's close to 18 feet long and is not in as good of shape as the Antarctica specimen. We have it lying right next to the more recent acquisition, since we don't want to cut that larger squid up.
We're doing a lot of analysis on that 2003 squid so we can apply the anatomical findings to the better specimen. Not to confuse things, but we additionally have a giant squid, measuring just over 16 feet.
JV: Is the Antarctica squid in a state of perfect preservation?
CD: Nearly, but it did sustain a lot of damage from the fishermen's net as it was hauled onto the vessel. You know how you score calamari before you place it on the barbecue? Well, that's what the damage sort of looks like. The tentacles, which are covered with swiveling hooks, are all present, however, which is extraordinary, considering how they could have easily come off.
JV: Do you know the squid's sex?
CD: No, but if we have a male it would be the first male colossal squid ever collected. Nobody's ever even seen a male of this species. If it's a male we would suspect it would have a penis that was retracted way into the body of the squid. (Editor's note: Shortly after this interview, the squid was found to be female.)
JV: I've heard that this squid may have the largest eyes of any animal.
CD: Yes, and we can confirm that now. One eye is fully intact and one is damaged. We measured the intact eye and it is over 10.5 inches across -- about the size of a basketball. This is the first time anyone has even ever seen the eyes of a colossal squid. We therefore have brought in experts from Lund, Sweden, who will measure the lens optic tissue of the eyes. Their analysis should tell us how well this species sees, what wavelengths it can view and whether or not it has binocular vision.
JV: Could the colossal squid glow in the dark?
CD: We're not sure at present. This colossal squid does possess light organs, so we suspect that it can glow at times. Some kind of luminescence is going on. It might use this to counter the bioluminescence of its prey.
We also found a light organ near the squid's eyelids. The squid could use it like a searchlight in its habitat. The squid was caught at a depth of nearly 3281 feet below the surface, and this species can go even deeper than that. Obviously it is very dark at such a depth, so generating light sources becomes important.
That having been said, this squid was built to be invisible. The reason squid have their characteristic pinky-red color is because red is invisible down at these depths. The colossal squid probably remains hidden most of the time, allowing it to capture its prey.
JV: What do colossal squid eat?
CD: We know it eats...toothfish, since this squid was eating that when it was captured, and remains of toothfish have been found in other squid. We don't know what else it consumes, however. We plan to extend an endoscope down its esophagus to view its stomach contents.
The squid's brain is around its esophagus, so that limits the size of the food it can ingest. This squid has a large beak, which it uses to crunch down prey into small bites. It also possesses a feature, sort of like a conveyor belt with teeth, which further helps to process food. By the time food gets to its stomach, it must be pretty mushy.
JV: Have you been able to identify any other unusual anatomical features?
CD: It has three hearts: one big central one and two pumping stations at the base of each gill. It's really quite neat. The hearts are much more delicate than ours, due to the depth and pressure at which colossal squid live. It pays to be more jellylike at those depths.
JV: Describe what it's like to be in a room with such an enormous squid.
CD: Someone told me it smells like a fish market, but I'd say a good fish market. If it started to smell like rotten fish, we'd definitely worry, as that would mean its flesh was rotting. Now that the squid is nearly thawed, we have to work very quickly to avoid this from happening.
JV: What more do you hope to learn about the squid during this research period?
CD: We'd like to know how the squid might normally sit in the water column. Its position in the water will help to tell us how it hunts, sees and behaves. We do know that the squid is fully buoyant, because it has a lot of ammonia for this, and it must have some way of adjusting its ammonia.
CD: The ammonia, by the way, is why this squid is not good for human consumption. One of our guys tasted a small sample from the other specimen. It was flavored with ammonia -- not desirable sashimi.
JV: What will happen to the squid once the analysis is over?
CD: We plan to put it on exhibit for the public at the museum in a solution of 10 percent formalin in around 1,849 gallons of water.
JV: Did you ever imagine that you'd be working on a colossal squid?
CD: I've done a lot of interesting things in my career, such as getting to work with whole sperm whales, but, I have to admit, I never would have imagined this experience. It's certainly a first for me.
Related Links:
Jennifer Viegas' blog: Born Animal