Posted on 07/11/2007 6:23:08 AM PDT by BufordP
HOBART, Australia A squid as long as a bus and weighing 550 pounds washed up on an Australian beach, officials said today. "It is a whopper," said Genefor Walker-Smith, a zoologist who studies invertebrates at the Tasmanian Museum. Giant squid live in waters off southern Australia and New Zealand where a half-ton colossus, believed to be the world's largest, was caught in February. They attract the sperm whales that feed on them. The dead squid, measuring 3 feet across at its widest point and 26 feet from the tip of its body to the end of its tentacles, was found early today by a beachcomber at Ocean Beach on the island state of Tasmania's west coast, the museum said. The squid was expected to be taken to the museum, where DNA and other scientific tests would be carried out before it is preserved and possibly put on public display. For anyone thinking of a calamari feast, Walker-Smith said giant squid contain high levels of ammonia in their bodies as a buoyancy aid. "It would not taste very nice at all," she said. New Zealand fishermen netted a 1,100-pound, 33-foot-long squid in the Southern Ocean in February. It is widely believed to be the largest specimen of the rare and mysterious deep-water species Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, or colossal squid, ever caught. Experts believe the creatures, which have long been one of the most mysterious denizens of the deep ocean, may grow even bigger up to 46 feet long.
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HILLARY!!
Oh, I was expecting that Squidillary picture that gets posted now and again...
The squid’s last thoughts as it beached itself: This sucks, I’m all washed up!
They can call it a whopper all they like, but it looks like a large fry to me
Is this the smallest “giant squid” on record?
In this photo released by New Zealand Fisheries Department on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2007, shows an unidentified New Zealand fisherman with a giant squid believed to have been caught in early February 2007 in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. The creature, known as a colossal squid (scientific name Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) and is thought to be the largest squid ever found anywhere in the world, weighing an estimated 450kg, 150kg heavier than the next biggest specimen ever found. (AP Photo/New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries) |
L
Darn, my first thought was food, lots of food.
“high levels of ammonia in their bodies”
Glad to see they are mounting it for display.
Throw that shrimp on the “Barby” mate.
Hey, TennesseeNana, have you ever spotted a squid this big off the coast of Tennessee?
Paging Kirk Douglas...
Dumbledore would be upset if he were still alive.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
Thanks L.
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