Some of the earliest tales about huge, tentacled sea monsters date back to the 12th century when Norwegian seafarers described an awesome beast called a Kraken.īy the 18th century the Kraken still had a fearsome reputation. He added: "I wrote The Search for the Giant Squid to try and dispel some of the crazy ideas that this cephalopod is in any way dangerous to humans, and the same holds true for Mesonychoteuthis." Sea Monsters Richard Ellis, author and research associate at the American Museum of Natural History, said the colossal squid "is no more a monster than Architeuthis is." We've got something that's even larger, and not just larger but an order of magnitude meaner."Īuckland University of Technology research associate Kat Bolstad, also talking to the BBC, added: "This animal, armed as it is with the hooks and the beak that it has, not only is colossal in size but is going to be a phenomenal predator and something you are not going to want to meet in the water." New Zealand squid expert Steve O'Shea, from Auckland University of Technology, has described the squid as "a true monster." He told the BBC: "Giant squid is no longer the largest squid that's out there. Scientists who identified the Ross Sea squid have fueled such speculation. Could it be such monsters really existed, and still exist today?
This latest find has revived interest in sea monster legends of old. Thought to be only the second intact example ever recovered, the massive cephalopod was armed with two huge beaks and rotating hooks along its tentacles. They say the species is the biggest and most fearsome squid known to science and could grow to 40 feet (12 meters) in length-longer than a whale. Usually called Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni,scientists who examined the Ross Sea specimen coined the term "colossal squid" to distinguish it from giant squid ( Architeuthis). This confirmed the encounter as the first live sighting of a colossal squid. The creature was hauled aboard and taken to New Zealand for analysis. Last month fishermen in the icy Ross Sea encountered a deep-sea giant.Īlmost 20 feet (6 meters) long, with spiked tentacles and huge, protruding eyes, it was feeding on Patagonian toothfish caught on longlines set by the fishermen.
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