The Colossal Squid

We are all familiar with myths of the kraken, its giant tentacles that pluck fishermen off ships and drag them down into the depths, an amalgamation of the most terrifying sea monsters humanity could dream up. In my complete oblivion to the fact that there is indeed such a thing as a giant squid, not to mention a colossal squid, imagine my disbelief as I crossed over from an exhibit of New Zealand's species of invertebrates to a tank displaying just that. And who knew squids have beaks? That discovery was by far the high point of today's visit to the Te Papa Tongarewa museum in Wellington for me.

In a glass jar, two uneven white balls not dissimilar to poached eggs float in a pickling liquid. They are not the eyes of the squid as I had presumed without reading the sign, but the lenses. The eyes themselves are the size of a foot ball, the largest animal eyes ever studied and possibly the largest ever to exist in the history of the animal kingdom. It appears that they also have built-in photophores (headlights), the confirmation that these creatures thrive in the darkest and deepest corners of the Antarctic Ocean, 1000 metres down or more. In the next jar, something resembling a parrot's beak enclosed in a ring of flabby white flesh. All squids and octopuses, I read, have beaks. It is crucial for the colossal squid to make efficient use of this, as its oesophagus is narrow and passes through the middle of its doughnut-shaped brain. Too big a chunk could cause brain damage.

For some perspective on the size of this animal, picture the two tentacles as being two metres long and a horizontal section of its upper body the diameter of a truck tyre. As I squint at the third jar, I look out for the 360° rotating hooks on the ends of the tentacles that make this species of squid unique, hooks that can latch onto prey and draw it closer to the sharply serrated and probably lethal suckers on each of its eight outstretched arms.

When the crew of the San Aspiring hauled this colossal squid out of the Antarctic waters in February 2007, it was alive and feasting on a tooth-fish. It is only the second to be pulled out of the ocean and the first to be exhibited intact, the tissue having been fixed with formalin. Previous clues of its existence were the remains found in stranded sperm whales' digestive systems (scientists believe that colossal squid might form as much as 77% of a sperm whale’s diet), beaks left behind after the stomach juices had dissolved everything else.

Being unaware of the existence of such a creature certainly rendered the exhibition riveting for me and outdid all expectations I had of the museum. If you are as intrigued by the colossal squid as I am, here is a video of the examination undertaken when they finally managed to thaw the animal https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/discover-collections/read-watch-play/science/watch-highlights-colossal-squid-examination

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