First-ever observations of a live giant squid in the wild

Abstract

The giant squid, Architeuthis, is renowned as the largest invertebrate in the world and has featured as an ominous sea monster in novels and movies. Considerable efforts to view this elusive creature in its deep-sea habitat have been singularly unsuccessful. Our digital camera and depth recorder system recently photographed an Architeuthis attacking bait at 900 m off Ogasawara Islands in the North Pacific. Here, we show the first wild images of a giant squid in its natural environment. Recovery of a severed tentacle confirmed both identification and scale of the squid (greater than 8 m). Architeuthis appears to be a much more active predator than previously suspected, using its elongate feeding tentacles to strike and tangle prey.

Extraordinary numbers of giant squid, Architeuthis dux, encountered in Japanese coastal waters of the Sea of Japan from January 2014 to March 2015

“…Kubodera and Mori (2005) revealed that a giant squid off the Ogasawara Islands in the North Pacific appeared at 900 m depth and swam up to 600 m to escape from a jig on which its tentacle was hooked. They reported that the water temperatures at 900 and 600 m depth were about 4 and 6°C, respectively.…”

Microstructural and Biochemical Characterization of the Nanoporous Sucker Rings from Dosidicus gigas

“…[16][17][18] One such group, the squids (Mollusca: Cephalopoda: Teuthoidea), are remarkable in several aspects. In addition to having an exceptionally well developed brain, sensory systems and skin (for adaptive coloration) [19] , these swift agile predators [20] have eight flexible strong arms, two fast extensible tentacles, and strong malleable suckers, all of which are muscular hydrostats [21] .…”

A giant squid (Architeuthis dux) off Reunion Island, western Indian Ocean: the greatest giant ever?

“…The whole tail of the specimen was most likely severed by a predator, rather than other means of injury (e.g. propeller of a vessel), given the preferences of giant squid to deep-water habitats (Kubodera & Mori, 2005) and visible patterns of tissue damage ( Figure 1A). Injuries at the mantle tip ( Figure 1A) suggest predation by a large animal, probably a sperm whale, as they are known to prey on giant squid and regularly occur within the region (Clarke, 1980;Jefferson et al, 1993;Mannocci et al, 2014), or possibly a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), which occasionally visit Reunion Island waters (Zuffa et al, 2002;Jaquemet, unpublished data).…”

“…Its biology and distribution remain obscure, despite recent technological advances, which allowed in-situ giant squid observations (Kubodera & Mori, 2005;Schrope, 2013), and numerous records from all major oceans (Nesis et al, 1985;Re et al, 1998;Cherel, 2003;Martins & Alvarez Perez, 2009;Winkelmann et al, 2013;Roper et al, 2015).…”