Dru Posted April 3, 2003 Share Posted April 3, 2003 Not only humbled by being the butt of blowjob jokes, the feathered little critters are now hunted by a newly discovered breed of giant squid. Sighting raises fear of giant killer squid 01 April 2003 By BERNIE NAPP A killer squid seen attacking fish in the Ross Sea last week may mark the first sighting of the world's largest and most aggressive squid species. Till now, "the mother of all squid" was only known to science from beaks in the guts of stranded sperm whales, Auckland squid expert Steve O'Shea said yesterday. The squid, unique for sharp swivelling hooks on its suckers, was attacking longline-hooked toothfish being winched on board a New Zealand fishing boat, he said. Fishermen gaffed the six metre-long creature and pulled it on board. "This squid is a really nasty aggressive sort of squid . . . a gelatinous blob with seriously evil arms on it. If you fall in the water, you're history." Dr O'Shea is flying to Wellington today to confirm whether the Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni specimen, held at Te Papa, has reached the maximum size for the species, by comparing its beak size with museum samples. He said he wanted the sea monster named "colossal squid" to highlight the possibility of it reaching 12-metres in length, longer than the giant squid. Last year Dr O'Shea captured the world's first live film footage of giant squid, revealing them as passive deep water drifters. He said he now wanted to film the more dynamic colossal squid, capable of snapping submarine telephone cables and hunting penguins. While such squid would be unable to kill a sperm whale, "they would give it a hell of a run", Dr O'Shea said. It appeared colossal squid normally lived in freezing, deep water, ranging as far north as a line between Christchurch and the Chatham Islands, he said. While at Te Papa's Buckle St collections unit, Dr O'Shea would sex the specimen, determine degree of maturity and investigate stomach contents. The squid was one of several caught on Antarctic longlines this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain Posted April 3, 2003 Share Posted April 3, 2003 damn I think I'm on all the wrong squid alert emailing lists, I never get this news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Flash_Amazing Posted April 3, 2003 Share Posted April 3, 2003 Dru said: While at Te Papa's Buckle St collections unit, Dr O'Shea would sex the specimen ... Must get lonely being a squid scientist. Dru, any correlation between the science and just being a fan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Necronomicon Posted April 3, 2003 Share Posted April 3, 2003 Oh no!!! That's my Power Animal!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squid Posted April 3, 2003 Share Posted April 3, 2003 You'd wanna sex me too, if you could. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted April 4, 2003 Author Share Posted April 4, 2003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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