Giant Squid

## Description

Giant Squid, (genus *Architeuthis*), any member of a genus of large, elusive cephalopods inhabiting deep regions of temperate to subtropical marine waters. Thought to be the largest or second largest living invertebrate, next to the colossal squid (*Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni*), the giant squid has been frequently depicted as a sea monster in literature and by mariners throughout history. The taxonomy of giant squids remains controversial; some scientists divide *Architeuthis* into several species, whereas others place them into the species *A. dux*.

## Appearance

The *Architeuthidae* are the largest known cephalopods, the largest known mollusks and probably the largest invertebrates ever known to exist in the oceans. *Architeuthidae* have been recorded as long as 60 feet in total length, most of the specimens that have been found are really in the 35-45 foot range. There are still many which range from about 20 to 30 feet in length. The total length includes the body, the head, the arms, and the two long feeding tentacles. These feeding tentacles are much longer than the rest of the body. The heaviest animals weigh about a ton, but most of the time they are a thousand pounds or less.

## Distribution

Giant squid are distributed in all the oceans of the world, usually in association with continental and island slopes. Concentrations of species found range from the North Atlantic Ocean, especially Newfoundland, Norway, northern British Isles and the oceanic islands of the Azores and Madeira; the South Atlantic in southern African waters; the North Pacific around Japan, and the southwestern Pacific around New Zealand and Australia; circumglobal in the Southern Ocean. Specimens are rare from tropical and high polar latitudes.

## Behavior

Since scientists have never observed giant squid alive in their natural habitat, they cannot say what its behavior is like. There is no way to know for sure how *Architeuthis* individuals interact with each other. One thing that scientist have hypothesized is that *Architeuthis* may be solitary hunters. They believe this because no two *Architeuthis* have ever been caught in fishing nets together.

## Diet

For many years, nobody knew what the giant squid utilized for food. This is because they have never really been observed in the wild. Some recent studies on dead individuals have shown that giant squid eat deep-sea fishes, such as orange ruffie, and hokie. They also eat other types of deep-sea squids, but not *Architeuthis*, the giant squid.As large as these animals are, they would probably be able to capture almost anything, maybe even whales(see comments)! They capture their prey by using their two long feeding tentacles. The tentacles are shot out to grip the prey. The suckers on the tips of tentacles grab hold of the prey and the tentacles contract, bringing the prey to the arms. The arms then further subdue the prey, pulling it to the strong, sharp beaks. The beaks are operated by a massive set of muscles that allow them to bite through just about anything the squid might capture. But the giant squid's bite-sized pieces of food need further shredding before being digested. The tongue is equipped with an organ known as the radula, which is loaded with rows of small, file-like teeth. The radula further shreds the meal before the tongue pushes it down the esophagus to the digestive organs.There are very few predators of the adult giant squid. The best and probably only one is the sperm whale. As babies and juveniles, they have many pedators, mostly deep sea fishes. Once giant squid get beyond a certain size, they have outgrown the size of most of their potential predators. Sperm whales grow to 40-50 feet in length, but they weigh 30-40 tons. So even though a giant squid is huge, it is not big enough to escape or to fight with a sperm whale. Most of the time the sperm whale wins. This is evident in the number of giant squid found in the stomach of the sperm whale.

## Reproduction

For many years, nobody knew what the giant squid utilized for food. This is because they have never really been observed in the wild. Some recent studies on dead individuals have shown that giant squid eat deep-sea fishes, such as orange ruffie, and hokie. They also eat other types of deep-sea squids, but not *Architeuthis*, the giant squid.As large as these animals are, they would probably be able to capture almost anything, maybe even whales(see comments)! They capture their prey by using their two long feeding tentacles. The tentacles are shot out to grip the prey. The suckers on the tips of tentacles grab hold of the prey and the tentacles contract, bringing the prey to the arms. The arms then further subdue the prey, pulling it to the strong, sharp beaks. The beaks are operated by a massive set of muscles that allow them to bite through just about anything the squid might capture. But the giant squid's bite-sized pieces of food need further shredding before being digested. The tongue is equipped with an organ known as the radula, which is loaded with rows of small, file-like teeth. The radula further shreds the meal before the tongue pushes it down the esophagus to the digestive organs.There are very few predators of the adult giant squid. The best and probably only one is the sperm whale. As babies and juveniles, they have many pedators, mostly deep sea fishes. Once giant squid get beyond a certain size, they have outgrown the size of most of their potential predators. Sperm whales grow to 40-50 feet in length, but they weigh 30-40 tons. So even though a giant squid is huge, it is not big enough to escape or to fight with a sperm whale. Most of the time the sperm whale wins. This is evident in the number of giant squid found in the stomach of the sperm whale.

## References

https://animalia.bio/giant-squid

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Architeuthis\_dux/

https://www.britannica.com/animal/giant-squid

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/facts/giant-squid

https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/giant-squid