First records of small-sized young giant squid Architeuthis dux from the coasts of Kyushu Island and the south-western Sea of Japan

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Abstract

Three individuals of small, young giant squid Architeuthis duxwere caught in or near Japanese coastal waters during April–June 2013. The first occurrence of a young individual of 140.8 mm dorsal mantle length with a total weight of 44.81 g was recorded on the coast off Uchinoura, Kagoshima, Kyushu Island, southern Japan. The remaining two young individuals, both measuring 332.0 mm in dorsal mantle length with total weights of 390.63 and 356.95 g respectively, were caught on the coast off Hamada, Shimane, south-western Sea of Japan. Most morphological traits of all the specimens were consistent with those of A. dux, which was supported by further genetic analysis. Here we present some morphological traits of young giant squids with morphometric data and photographs.

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

K Mori, Tsunemi Kubodera (2005)

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.