The Giant Squid, Architeuthis dux, is a
deep-sea Cephalopod Mollusc found in oceans around the world. Reaching
about 10 m in length, it is the second largest known Cephalopod, the
second largest Mollusc, and the second largest Invertebrate Animal of
any type, being exceeded in size only by the even larger Colossal Squid,
Mesonychoteuthis hamilton, which
can reach about 14 m and is only known from the waters around
Antarctica. Despite its large size, the Giant Squid is very poorly
understood by marine biologists, with very few recorded sightings of
living animals, and most of what is known about the species based upon
the study of specimens recovered from the stomachs of Sperm Whales.
On 7 June 2020 Adéle Grosse of Cape Town was walking on Golden Mile Beach in Britannia Bay, about 150 km to the north of Cape Town, when they came across a remarkably intact Giant Squid stranded on the beach. The animal was so fresh they initially thought that it was still alive, but closer investigation showed this was not the case. Strandings of Giant Squid are unusual, as they are not typically inshore Animals, but it is thought likely that this one was driven onto land by rough seas the previous night. The Britannia Bay Squid is reported to be about 4 m in length and to weigh about 330 kg; it has been collected by a group of scientists from Iziko Museums of South Africa, led by Wayne Florence, the Curator of Marine Invertebrates, for further study.
A Giant Squid, Architeuthis dux, that washed up on a beach at Britannia Bay, South Africa, on 7 June 2020. Adéle Gosse.
Although intact specimens of Giant Squid are rare, and little is known about their habits at sea, scientists have nevertheless managed to study the species from the remains we do have, with a draft genome sequence for the species having been published in a paper in the journal GigaScience on 16 January this year (2020), by a group of scientists led by Rute da Fonseca of the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate and Bioinformatics Centre at the University of Copenhagen.
Closer view of the Giant Squid that washed up on a beach at Britannia Bay, South Africa, on 7 June 2020. Adéle Gosse.
See also...
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