[url=http://io9.com/5674974/kraken-of-the-sea-and-of-our-trembling-fear]Source[/url]
[release][I]Why do we fear the giant squid? Brian Lam of ocean blog The Scuttlefish gets to the dark heart of kraken horror.[/I]
[img]http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/8/2010/10/340x_4187064486_26d398747f_z.jpg[/img]
In 1965, a Soviet Whaler watched an adult squid and sperm whale battle one another, but neither was victorious. The whale was found strangled, and the severed head of the squid was found in the whale's stomach. If [url=http://www.unmuseum.org/squid.htm]this[/url] is true, it is remarkable, for very few prey can injure their hunters to the point of death.
As the second largest mollusk, and the second largest invertebrate on the planet, the Giant Squid (Genus [I]Architeuthis[/I]) comes with the largest reputation ahead of even that of the later discovered and larger colossal squid.
Like all squid, the giant variety have eight arms, two longer tentacles, and a mantle. The arms and tentacles are what give the giant squid its length, and what lead to exaggerations of its actual size. The insides of the arms and tentacles, are lined with hundreds of suction cups, all perforated with finely serrated teeth. Like most smaller squid, it propels itself by means of ejecting water from a chamber in a rhythmic fashion, causing jet-like propulsion. Given its size, it has few enemies, but one that is worthy.
[img]http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/8/2010/10/340x_whale-eating-jumbo-squid_big.jpg[/img]
Sperm whales are often found with scars telling of entanglements with Giant Squid. They are known to eat the cephalopods with regularity.
But undigested beaks of Giant Squid found within the stomachs of whales have predominantly been juvenile. Not surprisingly, these epic creatures are of such size that they are each other's only natural enemies, other than man, who hunts them for research, not food. (The giant squid manage buoyancy by use of ammonium, a solution lighter than water. This chemical, related to ammonia, gives them a bitter flavor when eaten, said Bruce Robison, a Monterey-based scientist who chomped on a tentacle once after his quarry fled his line, leaving him only with a tentacle.)
We know it through stories like [I]20,000 Leagues Under the Sea[/I], and in others where it is known as a [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraken#cite_note-3]Kraken[/url]–a terrifying, elusive monster that attacked ships, battled whales, caused cap-sizing whirlpools, and all without fully emerging from the depths of the dark ocean. The Kraken dwelled in the waters off Norway, even though the word is German in origin, meaning, "Octopus". Naturally.
A sonnet by Alfred Tennyson [url=http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/tennyson/kraken.html]appeared in [I]Poems, Chiefly Lyrical,[/I] in 1830, page 154[/url].
[quote]Below the thunders of the upper deep;
Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea,
His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep
The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee
About his shadowy sides: above him swell
Huge sponges of millennial growth and height;
And far away into the sickly light,
From many a wondrous grot and secret cell
Unnumbered and enormous polypi
Winnow with giant arms the slumbering green.
There hath he lain for ages and will lie
Battening upon huge sea-worms in his sleep,
Until the latter fire shall heat the deep;
Then once by man and angels to be seen,
In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die.[/quote]
I prefer [url=http://www.badassoftheweek.com/kraken.html]BadAssOfTheWeek[/url]‘s description:
[quote]What's worse than having your ass chomped in half by two rows of serrated, dagger-sized shark teeth, you might ask? How about getting a singing molest-o-gram from a half-dozen gigantor rubbery tentacles that bludgeon your brain apart while simultaneously tearing your ship into jetsam, leaving you either dead, retarded, or stranded in the middle of the ocean with no hope of salvation? While that's pretty much one of the worst things ever, to the Kraken it's just the way he enjoys spending his lazy Sunday afternoons.[/quote]
[img]http://thescuttlefish.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/haleymills-post-640.png[/img]
The Kraken, as it appeared in Verne's [I]20,000[/I], was supposedly the basis for H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu, an octopus-headed god. And in [I]Clash of the Titans[/I], the Kraken was represented by a giant humanoid with a fishtail, which Perseus kills with Medusa's severed head, still capable of turning beings to stone. The Kraken also takes down a ship in [I]Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest[/I] as a hunter of the cursed. But let us not forget the real giant squid.
Indeed part of its reputation is built upon its elusiveness. Giant squid have never been caught and kept alive; The only specimens found to prove its existence were washed ashore, dead, or found mostly-digested inside the bellies of sperm whales. Whole bodies, being difficult to find even dead, are rare enough that in 2005 the Melbourne Aquarium paid $90k for a specimen frozen in ice, [url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/new-squid-on-the-ice-block/2005/12/20/1135032018280.html]captured by New Zealand fishermen[/url].
[img]http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/8/2010/10/800px-Giant_squid_melb_aquarium03-640x232.jpg[/img]
But with the advent of underwater cameras, robots, and crittercams, we have found photos and videos of live specimens. Here's the first, according to Steve O'Shea, squid exert, found in 2002. O'Shea says [url=http://web.archive.org/web/20051217194915/http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/kaiyo/2-topicnews/news/2002/02-02-01/mega-squid/mega-squid-01.html]they hauled the body to rock pools near the shoreline[/url], but the squid is indeed alive, even if only at 2 meters long.
[img]http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/8/2010/10/Live_giant_squid_first_image.jpg[/img]
Later, specimens in better shape, having been hauled straight from the sea, were found by a team of researchers in Japan 600 miles south east of Tokyo near the island of Chichijima using a small line baited with squid and shrimp. (Squid have been known to be cannibalistic.) They dropped the line 3,000 feet in an area specifically known as a sperm whale feeding ground.
[img]http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/8/2010/10/340x_061222-giant-squid1.jpg[/img]
This was 2004. The same team, lead by [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsunemi_Kubodera]Tsunemi Kubodera[/url] ([url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Science_Museum_of_Japan]National Science Museum of Japan[/url]) and [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoichi_Mori]Kyoichi Mori[/url] ([url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogasawara_Whale_Watching_Association]Ogasawara Whale Watching Association[/url]) captured video a year later.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dv9JhQ0Msw[/media]
The 3-meter giant squid in the video isn't very giant, since the creatures can grow up to 13 meters in length. [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_O'Shea]Steve O'Shea[/url], the researcher who is attempting to capture live giant squid, is taking the approach of capturing juveniles to an extreme. He's been searching for them as inch-long specimens, of which there are far greater in the sea since their numbers dwindle before they can reach maturity.
He was the subject of a [url=http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/05/24/040524fa_fact1?currentPage=all]New Yorker profile[/url], where he unsuccessfully hunts the creatures in front of the reporter. But he does move research forward, discovering little things that could keep the animals alive in captivity, including facts like certain plastics and rectangular tanks are deadly to the creatures, who can only thrive in cylinder shaped enclosures. O'Shea seems mad with the quest, a quest which seems foolish until completed, like many great endeavors with no financial ends. But his strategy seems smart. After all, you have to wonder at how sane it is to try to capture a creature that outweighs you by several times, with several times as many arms, and a beak that in [url=http://thescuttlefish.com/2010/09/jumbo-squid-beaks-can-bite-through-kevlar-which-is-20-times-stronger-than-steel/]lesser species has been known to bite through kevlar[/url], a material 20 times harder than steel.[/release]
Fuck UFOs and aliens, I want to see an adult giant squid... [B]ALIVE![/B] :ohdear:
Well if you direct your attention to Fig.6 in your thread... That's a live one. At least it was when the picture was taken.
[QUOTE=OvB;25693899]Well if you direct your attention to Fig.6 in your thread... That's a live one. At least it was when the picture was taken.[/QUOTE]
I was talking about an [I]adult, full-size[/I] giant squid...
That picture is extremely creepy, I don't know why
[QUOTE=Pretiacruento;25693911]I was talking about an [I]adult, full-size[/I] giant squid...[/QUOTE]
It will happen eventually. The more and more we probe, the more and more we find.
[QUOTE=OvB;25694010]It will happen eventually. The more and more we probe, the more and more we find.[/QUOTE]
sounds like your mom
[quote]The 3-meter giant squid in the video isn't very giant, [b]since the creatures can grow up to 13 meters in length.[/b][/quote]
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah there goes any hope of me ever going in the water again.
I thought the Kraken was a octopus.
[QUOTE=RaptorBlackz;25694272]I thought the Kraken was a octopus.[/QUOTE]
There are mixed stories. Traditionally it's accepted to be a squid as its tentacles are described as being long, winding, and slim, but powerful. Octopi have fat, fairly stubby tentacles.
"Large tentacled beast" is the most common, for all we know it could be an entirely different subsect or species of Cephalopod.
[QUOTE=teh pirate;25694416]There are mixed stories. Traditionally it's accepted to be a squid as its tentacles are described as being long, winding, and slim, but powerful. Octopi have fat, fairly stubby tentacles.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, the reason for this probably is that they look fairly similar to someone who had never seen a squid before as they like to be in the deep water, only coming out of the deep to spawn. The octopus on the other-hand is usually fairly close to shore and a popular food staple in places like spain so many people were familiar with the concept.
[editline]27th October 2010[/editline]
[QUOTE=Dr. Punchgroin;25694516]"Large tentacled beast" is the most common, for all we know it could be an entirely different subsect or species of Cephalopod.[/QUOTE]
Chthulu?
[QUOTE=teh pirate;25694416]There are mixed stories. Traditionally it's accepted to be a squid as its tentacles are described as being long, winding, and slim, but powerful. Octopi have fat, fairly stubby tentacles.[/QUOTE]
Back in the day, any large sea animal that the sailors saw was subject to "monsterism." Whale? Sea monster. Octopus? Sea monster. Shark? Sea monster. Then they go to their little Sailor bars and exaggerate what they've seen. Thus sea monsters were born.
Imagine you're a young English boy. Never been on a boat, only water you see is from the harbor. You hear stories of what the sailors talk about. Then you see a painting like this:
[img]http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/4797/brook20watson20and20the.jpg[/img]
Imagination runs wild.
[QUOTE=OvB;25694690]Back in the day, any large sea animal that the sailors saw was subject to "monsterism." Whale? Sea monster. Octopus? Sea monster. Shark? Sea monster. Then they go to their little Sailor bars and exaggerate what they've seen. Thus sea monsters were born.
Imagine you're a young English boy. Never been on a boat, only water you see is from the harbor. You hear stories of what the sailors talk about. Then you see a painting like this:
[img_thumb]http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/4797/brook20watson20and20the.jpg[/img_thumb]
Imagination runs wild.[/QUOTE]
The modern image of the Kraken (to anyone educated on sailor lore of the period) is a squid.
I say this in refutation since I can't tell if you are agreeing with me or not.
[QUOTE=teh pirate;25694774]The modern image of the Kraken (to anyone educated on sailor lore of the period) is a squid.
I say this in refutation since I can't tell if you are agreeing with me or not.[/QUOTE]
I'm agreeing with you. I'm just adding that sailors see shit and over exaggerate them for giant monsters. Which is why we have images of krakens and such being massive beasts.
[QUOTE=OvB;25694814]I'm agreeing with you. I'm just adding that sailors see shit and over exaggerate them for giant monsters. Which is why we have images of krakens and such being massive beasts.[/QUOTE]
Ah, yeah. This is true indeed.
Also squid have hooks on their tentacles while the octopus has suckers.
[QUOTE=RaptorBlackz;25695656]Also squid have hooks on their tentacles while the octopus has suckers.[/QUOTE]
Not all of them do. I've never bitten into my calamari and found my tongue has a new piercing.
[QUOTE=shadow_of_intent;25696450]Id love to be a Cryptozoologist.[/QUOTE]
I love be(come)ing a Marine Biologist! Giants and colossals are no longer things of myth. The ocean is an alien world all in its own. Can't wait to explore it.
Id rather study mythical shit on land. The ocean is too big and dark for me....
:ohdear:
[QUOTE=shadow_of_intent;25696562]Id rather study mythical shit on land. The ocean is too big and dark for me....
:ohdear:[/QUOTE]
Mythical stuff on land is boring. The ocean is where it's at.
[QUOTE=shadow_of_intent;25696450]Id love to be a Cryptozoologist.[/QUOTE]
I would be a marine crytozoologist if it was 1780 and I wasn't quite as sane.
[editline]28th October 2010[/editline]
And I didn't like money or being useful
[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;25697012]I would be a marine crytozoologist if it was 1780 and I wasn't quite as sane.
[editline]28th October 2010[/editline]
And I didn't like money or being useful[/QUOTE]
Don't wake the great old ones please.
[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;25697012]I would be a marine crytozoologist if it was 1780 and I wasn't quite as sane.[/QUOTE]
Dont get me wrong. Id LOVE to explore the ocean and its creatures.
I just have a fear of dark water. And being crushed in a small submarine. And claustrophobia.
See how none of those would be helpful underwater?
Plus, on land id get to chase the Jersey Devil, Chupacabra, Bigfoot. Man, that would be a great life to live..
[editline]28th October 2010[/editline]
Also, Mothman, Grinning Man, Flatwoods Monster.
Ive been reading stories about these since i COULD read. They intrigue me. I want to find them.
[editline]28th October 2010[/editline]
Made a group for us. With a Kraken as the picture as it spawned the idea.
[url]http://www.facepunch.com/group.php?groupid=1985[/url]
[QUOTE=Eluveitie;25696946]Mythical stuff on land is boring. The ocean is where it's at.[/QUOTE]
Actually, in the deepest part of the seas, the creatures are using little-to-no energy to move around because there is not much food.
They kinda like flow around in there, slow and steady.
But yeah agreed it's an alien world down there. You should see [b]Planet Earth[/b], it's a serie with 12 episodes talking about weird animals and shit. Some are not that weird but nevertheless they are awesome. The deep water episode, however, is amazing. The whole series is amazing!
And speaking of monsters...
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgtaeRZjWNc[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8Nu94khHoo[/media]
I heard that by measuring the diameter of suction marks on the hide of sperm whales, they've estimated some giant squid to be much, much bigger than ones we've found. I can't remember the exact numbers though.
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