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That's one colossal squid there, Captain! (MLP)
By IHCOYC
Sat Apr 5th, 2003 at 02:26:06 AM EST
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A BBC News story relates that a New Zealand marine biologist has discovered the mostly intact body of a colossal squid, Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni --- that's bigger than a mere giant squid --- in the seas off Antarctica. Its discoverer believes that a full grown animal would be more than twenty yards long.
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The specimen recently taken and described was only a juvenile, according to Dr. Steve O'Shea, a marine biologist with the Auckland University of Technology. Dr. O'Shea estimates that a fully grown Mesonychoteuthis would be more than twenty yards long, making it longer than the sperm whales that are believed to be the only predators of the fully grown squids. Most existing calamari recipes are inadequate to cope with a squid of this size.
Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni is hitherto known only from a specimen taken in 1925, and juvenile specimens identified in 1970. Since the juveniles were identified, more have been found; the animal is apparently not particularly rare. The finds appear to be concentrated in two areas: in the sea between New Zealand and South America, and south of the Horn of Africa. The squid is a member of the Cranchiidae, strange deep sea squids, many of which have translucent bodies, that dwell in the deep sea beyond the reach of sunlight. Many of these squids have organs that glow in the dark. This squid inhabits Antarctic waters. Those who encounter one in the wild should be aware that its arms have grappling hooks to grasp its prey as well as suckers.
Attacks on humans by giant squid have been recorded through much of seafaring history, where they gave rise to tales of the Kraken. French people in yachts have been victims of attacks by Architeuthis dux, which before the discovery of Mesonychoteuthis held the dubious distinction of being the largest known mollusc. We learn here that the enemies of these squids are sperm whales, commercial fishermen, and neurological scientists, who covet their axons. Stories of giant squid attacks occur in literature. Tennyson's poem on the Kraken is one such example; and a poem by K. Silem Mohammad that appeared in Shampoo Poetry Magazine speculates that Aquaman could telepathically control giant squids to foil evildoers. The author of the Man and Mollusc site has written a story, Sammy's Adventure, the "the first book in a proposed series," which tells of the adventures of a snail, and promises that "kids will feel connected to the mollusc and his plight." This has nothing to do with colossal squids, but it was too bemusing not to mention.
But surely the most distinguished giant squid in literature belongs to H. P. Lovecraft. Has Cthulhu finally been roused by human activity? Was H. P. Lovecraft right all along? While the squid at the BBC would indeed seem to possess "a pulpy, tentacled head" with "rudimentary wings," a "rubbery looking body," and its face is a "mass of feelers," it does not appear to be "scaly," nor does it appear to have a "vaguely anthropoid outline," nor "hind and fore feet." Whether it seems "instinct with a fearsome and unnatural malignancy" is something those unlucky enough to encounter a live one will have to decide for themselves. And far from having a "somewhat bloated corpulence," the squid seems to be rather sleek and streamlined by my estimation.
Not Cthulhu; but a close cousin.
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