Aron,

Did I say Bass? I meant Summer Lightning.:wink:

I'll keep my eyes peeled for more teuthids with arm keels. If Dosidicus has 'em, perhaps some other ommastrephid squid have 'em. If you want to see a good photo of Dosidicus flaring its keel, click here. (http://www.mbari.org/expeditions/GOC/logbook/Leg3/leg3images/Mar24_dosidicus539.jpg)

Clem

Clem, many, if not all ommastrephids have those keels; it's one of their little peculiarities.

Nice pic!

Hello Steve,

Ah-ha. Hmm. Didn't see any reference to keels as diagnostic features on the TOLWEB ommastrephid page. Mebbe I just missed it.

That is a nice picture, isn't it? There was a pretty massive ROV survey done last summer of the upwelling off Monterey. Wonder what else is hiding on all that videotape?

Yours truly,

Clem

Howdo Clem. The reason why the keels are probably not cited on TOL as diagnostic is because they are also found in many other families of squid (rendering their presence/absence not particularly informative). They are, however, particularly well-developed in ommastrephid squid.

The reason why I said 'probably all ommastrephids' (or something to this effect) was because there's always an exception, and I was working from memory, so I wasn't prepared to state that they occured on all.
Cheers
O

I wonder if this is the same Architeuthis, nicely preserved? Anyone read Japanese?

http://www4.airnet.ne.jp/mizuno/diving/ika.htm

I'm sure at least a few dozen people can. :heee: :oops:

Apparently, babelfish doesn't:

It went to the National Science Museum in order to look at Zero, however it is good
Finding outrageous ones, being excited, doing to commemoration photographing
The stripe stripe it is to do. < ニ: ミ
As expected, when it encounters such a great man at the sea, feeling it is bad, is.

Becoming white with the formalin soaking, excessive feeling it is bad from the る.
When it is coiled round.... How, you think when.... (@ - @;)

The う ぎ ゃ - the っ, the feeling わ る - it is... (@ O @;) /

I think you can ignore the smilies.

Didnt Steve say something about it getting preserved? im not sure if it was this thread or not (but twould make the most sense)

Not sure about that exhibit WK; the translation cites 'National Museum...'; if it is in Taichung, Taiwan, it is a specimen that I took over (a link to the exhibit, with a young lady standing in front of it, was posted somewhere online ... but I cannot recall where); if not then it is a specimen that I didn't know about, or a new exhibit. The live [i]Archi, photos of which were posted earlier, was, to the best of my knowledge, not on public display.

Hi-- I just discovered tonmo this morning, so I apologize if this has already been mentioned somewhere...

There is a quote floating around the web (google getse several hits), which I can't find an original source for, which I was wondering if Steve could clarify:

"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."

Does such video really exist? I would've expected it to be mentioned on this thread if it did. Or is this just a case of some journalist getting confused? If it does exist, I would, of course, love to know where to see it...

"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."


My word - hadn't happened upon that quote before, and I can assure you that there's little truth in it. We certainly got the little fellas on film, but have yet to attempt the big guys. Moreover, any/all evidence for them being 'passive drifters' wasn't obtained from any imagery of the larvae, but is based on the relative distribution of ammonium and sodium ions through the adults body, and one sonar image.

Reference to the penguin-hunting/chomping habit of the colossal squid can be attributed to one ever-so-slightly overly zealous reporter from a New Zealand newspaper; when that quote came out I just wanted to run away and hide (as I do often when I hear about some of the dribble that is reported).

There's an article online, somewhere (I lose track) ... at least I think there is ... that deals with buoyancy in giant squid. Having just found the site it might take some time to navigate through and find it, but it is well worth the hunt (a fantastic amount of information is tied up in various threads on this site).

Finally, I should send out a warm :welcome: to TONMO.
Cheers
Steve

There's an article online, somewhere (I lose track) ... at least I think there is ... that deals with buoyancy in giant squid. Having just found the site it might take some time to navigate through and find it, but it is well worth the hunt (a fantastic amount of information is tied up in various threads on this site).


For the articles, just hit the blue Science tab at the top of the page...

Steve,

Could you provide more details of the sonar image of the giant squid you mentioned? When was this image taken and how did you guys confirm it was a giant squid? What did the image look like? I'm fascinated. Thanks!

-Bennett

If this indeed is an arkietoothis (this is an incorrect spelling), then I am suprised that Nova hasn't made a documentary yet.

:shock: WOW :shock:
http://picserver.student.utwente.nl/view_image.php/96UVIZIL1UXQ/p.jpeg

Hey Tonmo-ers,
I do read/speak/write a little Japanese, so I could take a crack at translating all these random pages in Japanese. The problem is that my computer won't code the symbols into the kanji (Chinese characters). How would I do that?
Despite that, I was able to do a little translating. The last two characters in the title of the page http://www4.airnet.ne.jp/mizuno/diving/ika.htm say "squid" (ika means squid, pronounced ee-kaw). Wow. . . what an achievment.

BigSquid

I actually translated a little more from http://www4.airnet.ne.jp/mizuno/diving/ika.htm.
The student is saying: Coming to see such a big thing from the ocean makes me sad.
Aww, there's a little ocean appreciation for you.

Either way, the picture was taken at the National Science Museum in Tokyou. I checked out the website and it sounds like they do a lot of invertebrate research (excluding insects it says). Sounds interesting. No sign of the squid though.

BigSquid

Hi BigSquid8Me,

Fancy having a crack at the box above the 9th and 10th pictures as you scroll down on this page?

http://homepage1.nifty.com/ozok/ika-story2.htm

As you may have read above we strongly suspect that pic.10 is infact Architeuthis, a second living photo.

Cheers,

Phil

Ok, this reveals a little of my 'dark' past. But before I came back into the marine biology fold I worked for several years as a graphic/web designer. I've done a fair bit of 'image alteration'.

There is something about this eye photo that doesn't 'feel' right to me.

The eye seems (to me) to stand out too much. I hope I'm wrong and I would REALLY like to see bigger higher rez images of the other photos to be sure. But this REALLY looks wrong on a gut level to me.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong here and this is only one of the things that bothers me: isn't the eye bigger than this?

I'll send it to few of my 'designer friends' and see what they think.

I'm editting this post because a couple of my 'designer friends' think this looks, well, odd. But again, we're not sure (We, and I'm including me here, don't know enough about Architeuthis to say).

As always, we need to see more.

You know, this Ceph thing is osmotic, I'm sure of it. My molluscs are slow and have these shell things.

Hello Matt,

The hoax rumor was discussed on page three of this thread. The size and appearance of the eye seems to be the sticking point for some, and the given explanation for it sounded right to me: the animal was squinting.

I wouldn't want you to spill the trade secrets of dangerous associates from your dark past, but...what looks wrong about the eye? How does it "stand out" too much?

Yours truly,

Clem

This is a question for Steve,

Now it's been almost 10 months since these amazing photos were found and revealed here, are you in a position to reveal any more details or photos about them? Or is the 'Kyoto Incident' :) still cloaked in secrecy?

Phil

.... :shock: (in a state of shock)

Matt's just sent something through that does make me think something fishy is up, that perhaps the image has be tidied up some (modified). All the same, the specimen was retained, and most certainly was an Architeuthis, and does things that only someone extremely familiar with these animals could have figured out. It still gets my thumbs up for authenticity (overall) - just (quite possibly - almost certainly) doctored a little.

As the eye is not covered by a membrane (it sits in a socket/hole in the head, freely communicating with the seawater), the outer, muscular margin of the eye 'socket' is quite capable of contracting, giving the squid this bizarre 'squint' (the visible portion of the eye is reduced and distorted, but the eye itself is not - it is still its old disc-like self, just obscured behind the musculature of the head). Now that doesn't read very well - it could do with an illustration to explain what it is I'm talking about - but I'm trying to take a couple of days off to rejuvinate, so it'll have to wait.

Just had a chat with Matt and he explained his theory... all the more compelling since I'm not very fluent and knowledgeable in photo editing. He'll post later on to reveal more and offer his insight about the whole affair ;)

Still, there is no questionning the validity of the pic, simply the matter of why bother doctoring such picture. What's the motive, what's the reward? To be the first person to get a picture of a live Architeuthis... I'm doubtful of the (financial) returns of such fame...Maybe it gives you amazing pulling power? dunno.

Did I say that I just luuuuv a good conspiracy? :madsci:

TPOTH

Firstly, I never suggested the thing was a hoax.

What I think is this: There is a discontinuity in the blockyness of the jpeg compression in the image as you move over the eye. This suggests that the image appears to have been created at one resolution, edited and then saved at a higher resolution.

Possible reason: If you wanted to highlight, enhance or sharpen an area you would do this.

The image I've attached is what you would have expected to see if you had blown up the original and it had not been edited. All I've done here is to open the image, blow it up and save it at a lower resolution. The image now has consistant compression.

Try blowing up the original to about 300-400% and look at the area where the eye is and then the rest of the picture. The compression isn't consistant, it looks like someone has tried to enhance the eye. I hope you can see what I mean.

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/download.php?id=2725

Hello Matt,

Well, I'll be damned. You're right.

I think our only recourse is to steal their bandwidth.

Just kidding, Tony.

Clem

I see what you mean too, Matt.

Do we have any kind Japanese speaking volunteers with a Japanese keyboard who would be willing to try to contact the webmaster directly so that we could obtain larger views of the thumbnail pictures on page 2?

Firstly, I never suggested the thing was a hoax.

What I think is this: There is a discontinuity in the blockyness of the jpeg compression in the image as you move over the eye. This suggests that the image appears to have been created at one resolution, edited and then saved at a higher resolution.

Possible reason: If you wanted to highlight, enhance or sharpen an area you would do this.

Well spotted - it looks like they have worked on it at around 400% probably drawing a brown line around outside of the eye and around the pupil and it seems likely the coloured the eye in too. I've attached a 400% zoom on the eye.

Emps

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/download.php?id=2729

It will take a while to translate the text on http://homepage1.nifty.com/ozok/ika-story2.htm, but I can say now that the title (in red) above the 9th and 10th pictures says "Giant Squid."

BigSquid

I finished the translation and it basically says:

As you know, this is the squid that appears from the deep sea. It’s famous for its fights with the Sperm Whale. Not much is known about them. This organism is two meters long. They can also grow to six meters, though it is thought that this thing may surpass eight meters.

Hope this helps

BigSquid

8) Thanks, BigSquid!

Finally, an underestimation for Architeuthis...

With this debate about the unexpected shape of the eye in the living giant squid photo, I think this unusual image makes a very interesting comparison. I'll leave any conclusions to those 'in the know'.

Photo obtained from this site (http://leatherwoodonline.com/tassiestories/2004/squid/squid2.htm)

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/files/giantsquideye.jpg

:shock: Holy Schmoley. That's disturbing.

What happened to the mantle??

What a find, Phil, you rule for posting that.

:shock:

Indeed, most bizarre. I've seen many a pic of this animal, but never this one. It's obviously fresh (it has not been frozen and defrosted), so someone has obviously picked this monstrous thing up from the sea surface, after a battle with something (whale/shark).

Interesting eye ... with pronounced "I'm not too happy about being decapitated/present state of affairs" furrow/frown atop. Very rare photo that one!!!

Interesting eye ... with pronounced "I'm not too happy about being decapitated/present state of affairs" furrow/frown atop.
:lol:

That's an awfully damn creepy photo. From the fading, I'd wager it was moldering in an attic for twenty years.

So, is it possible to gauge size based on the items around Mr. Squid? How big is that petrol can? How large is the reel?

Was it Bald Evil who proved so good at identifying fishing gear?

Clem

I'm personally a big fan of the artist's interpretation of the giant squid on the web page.
Brilliant...simply brilliant

Megan

It does indeed look like an old photo. Anyone feel like having a stab at e-mailing the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery for more information? There should be a contact address at the link above the photo above.

Quite a lively article...most interesting....

Hi everyone,

I had a bit of a play in Photoshop and colour-corrected the photo. If had to guess I would say that it got to be 20 years old at least.

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/download.php?id=3169

Oops, my computer had a moment and seems to have posted twice... :oops:

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/files/giantsquid02-corrected.jpg

Just a thought, when I was a kid my family had a 15' fiberglass boat which had very similar fuel tanks to the one shown. That would make this 70's-80's. I know this is pretty tenuous, but it's a start.

One question concerning the shape of the visible portion of the eye in these photographs. In most of the drawings of architeuthis I've seen, the eye looks very round. In the photo above and the series from Japan, the eye outline looks very much like a human's eye turned sideways. Reading back a few posts shows other people a lot more knowledgeable than I have noticed this. I was wondering if this shape can be verified by anyone here who has seen one of the big guys up close.

Aside from being curious about this, I'm working on the eyes of my 3D model now and changing the shape later on would be a lot of extra work.

--Carl
:sink:

Doh! http://cbb3d.com/forums/images/smiles/yay.gif

Disregard my questions on the eye shape in these pics. Reading through this thread from start to finish answered those questions and a lot of others as well.

--Carl – the one what said Doh! http://protask.nl.eu.org/~dennis/emoticons/conf45.gif
http://protask.nl.eu.org/~dennis/emoticons/div34.gif

Freaky eyes they've got... :bugout:

:shock:

I don't know what to make of this.

These images appear on a Japanese blog dated February 14, 2004; the shots were obviously taken using a camera trained on a video monitor's screen. The footage is credited to the Nippon News Network. (The link to the original page appears at the end of this post.)

The first image (http://ma-sami.cocolog-nifty.com/sake/ika-3.jpg) looks like a partially-thawed, deep-frozen giant squid on the wet floor of a Japanese market. The third and fourth arms appear to be quite rigid.

The second image (http://ma-sami.cocolog-nifty.com/sake/ika-2.jpg) shows more of the market, a slicker-wearing attendant and a better profile of the squid's body. The mantle retains a cylindrical shape. There appears to be vapor coming off the frozen squid.

The third image (http://ma-sami.cocolog-nifty.com/sake/ika-1.jpg) is a close-up of the squid's head and arms. The eye is intact. Keels are very prominent on the third and fourth arms.

Because the blog also has images taken from Japanese adverts and pop ephemera, my first thought was that these images might be from a television commercial. I've seen some pretty elaborate Japanese ads involving ika. Because the squid is partially frozen and the mantle so round in section, I was inclined to think it just a very elaborate (and accurate) prop.

But that's pretty damn far to go, and the details - arm keels, elliptical eye, slightly pinched anterior portion of the mantle, etc., - suggest either an exceptionally well-informed prop-maker or, well, a real giant squid. Maybe a newly dead/dying Architeuthis put directly into deep freeze would look like this. I don't know. If it's a fake, it's superb. If it's real, it's a beauty.

BigSquid8Me, could you turn your translation skills loose on the original blog? The characters in the upper right corner of the first image match those found for "giant squid" on other Japanese pages. What about the rest?

http://ma-sami.cocolog-nifty.com/sake/2004/02/

:?:

Clem

Yikes. Pics seem real... :shock:

I'd be happy to try, but it may take a while. My computer only allows me online for about 10 minutes each day...so you can imagine how that would be problematic. :roll:
Sorry, but I'll still try

BigSquid

Hello BigSquid,

Thanks for your help, and don't worry about the amount of time it takes.

Yours truly,

Clem

Another nice find, thanks Clem. I agree, looks quite real, and quite huge.

Apart from a bit of shredded skin on the arms, this bruiser (http://ma-sami.cocolog-nifty.com/sake/ika-1.jpg) looks to be in exceptionally good shape, and not at all like something that was tumbled in the shred cycle of a trawl. Found spawned-out at the surface, perhaps, but hardly flaccid. I can't get over that cylindrical mantle: it's uncanny. The crew that landed this squid obviously kept it apart from their commerical catch and thus prevented it from being damaged in the hold. An expensive call for them to make, and I hope they were compensated well by those who took posession of the squid.

:?:

Clem

Very intriguing.

To me these look like pictures taken of a news story being shown on tv (shots of a tv screen at least). Which means that there is probably video footage of this somewhere...

Something I was able to quickly translate. One of the pictures is of two guys at a table, and there's some thick writing over the picture which basically says "really don't want to eat it".
Haha...silly muchness...

BigSquid

Well, I tried my best, but I'm very confused by the person writing these captions. I think they're trying to be funny (they never taught me how to be funny in school :cry: ) so I'm havin a time of it.
As far as I can tell it says:

On the TV news, there was a speech on how someone caught a giant squid
Wa...feeling bad...
Is it delicious, this? These people appear to be eating it
Salt and spice, don’t be eating it (smile)
This, for the time being, is seen lying in this place....?...(smile)

It's really strange. I looked at the rest of the site, and it looks like we're reading someone's diary. Very bizarre. This particular entry was posted on Valentines Day of this year, so this is a fairly recently captured squid. Sorry, but that's the best I could do (learning Latin has messed up my Japanese...oh well)

BigSquid

BigSquid,

:notworth:

Thank you very much for the translation. Perhaps "Wa...feeling bad" means "Oh gross?" It sounds like our blogger tacked on the image of the fellow with chopsticks as a joke. She/he must have been having a gruesome Valentines Day.

Video...must find video...must find something about the circumstances in which these images were made. Can't find a damn thing.

Clem

It looks fake to me. The persons in the background look more like mannequins than people. Also why is the one in the foreground carrying a laundry bucket?

Here is the direct link to the blog entry with some extra comments:

http://ma-sami.cocolog-nifty.com/sake/2004/02/post_21.html

I've sent the link to the guy I go to for all my help with Korean, Japanese and Chinese - hes busy but there isn't much text so.........

Emps

Cheers, Emps,

Thanks for your post. Sounds like we're getting good coverage on the text. A friend gave it a quick pass last night and came up with much the same translation that BigSquid provided: the blogger saw it on the news, thought it was gross, couldn't imagine eating it.

Snafflehound, I think the yellow laundry basket carried by the fellow in image two (http://ma-sami.cocolog-nifty.com/sake/ika-2.jpg) is being used to carry/sort the smaller, saleable squid on the market floor.

Yours truly,

Clem

Whew it's good to know I'm not crazy...if someone else thinks that's what it says...roughly...sort of...at a stretch...

BigSquid

I'm still puzzling over why something no one wants to eat was taken to the fish market.

Melissa

I'm still puzzling over why something no one wants to eat was taken to the fish market.
Melissa,

Yeah, that's peculiar. Perhaps it isn't a market; it might be a dockside shed.

Is it just me, or does anyone else wonder if Japan isn't a space/time anomaly wherein Architeuthis appears, tantalizes and then disappears?

:roll:

Clem

I'd say those pics were the real deal; too much post-mortem detail (they'd have done a better job if they'd wanted to render it more life like).

Ja, lets all pack our bags and head to Japan, after the earthquakes, tsunamis and shocking weather have passed.

Clem, Japan seems to be a place where all kinds of things happen!!!
Agree, though, the pictures seem too "gritty" to be fake...not enough detail in the right areas where a technogeek would put them...
It is sad about the rotten weather there...no fun !

Hi Paul (of BBC). I've just resurrected this thread (from the vaults) so that it's easy for you to relocate. We're a friendly bunch here at TONMO, so there's a lot of banter in the thread that you'll have to wade through; you'll also have to go to the first post on this thread to get the web links (once you've figured out the navigation system it will be easy).

Unfortunately we lost all embedded images in posts a while back, when we changed over to a new system, so following the thread (in terms of images) might not be as easy as it once was. Nevertheless, enjoy, see the live animal, and know that there are many more images that none of us is aware of (as in online) yet.
Kindest
Me

Just heard back from Ku (indeed, up to all sorts of interesting things). He confirms that these images are of Architeuthis, and that they are no hoax. He also relayed a little more exciting news (biting tongue, biting tongue) ..... news that surprised me a little (pieces of the puzzle coming together; no, GS hasn't been filmed, but startling revelations as to its biology are just as, if not more interesting than a bit of film).

Tiz only a matter of time.

Heavens, how soon we forget .....

Great. Now I'm not going to be able to sleep again.

:archi: :confused:

Immediately after which the Right Honourable regal Footed Sir Lord Dr Ummmmm....... wrote ......

I hope you've slept since Dave!

To save time ploughing through the thread, to sum up, here is the original February 2002 Architeuthis photo from Kyoto. It is believed that the eye may have been slightly doctored using a paint programme, but this has not been proven 100%.

http://www.tonmo.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1392&stc=1&d=1127811679


More images are available from this link, though they are all very small:

http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/kaiyo/2-topicnews/news/2002/02-02-01/mega-squid/mega-squid-01.html


These are the other two photos depicting two other specimens. I don't think that the history behind pictures has been resolved yet. The Architeuthis in the 'fishing' picture is chasing Thysanoteuthis used as bait.

http://www.tonmo.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1393&stc=1&d=1127811679

http://www.tonmo.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1394&stc=1&d=1127811679

the last two photos I've seen somewhere else, but is it a Archi or some sort of other large (not giant) squid?

the last two photos I've seen somewhere else, but is it a Archi or some sort of other large (not giant) squid?

You're possibly remembering seeing them here on this forum Chrono. I think Dr S did identify them as Archi.

They're all Archi Eric; Phil, thanks a million for reposting- tiz muchly appreciated. Am fatigued to the max.

Thanks, the first pic we've discussed, but I don't know much about the seocnd, it looks a bit strange and the third (Archi feeding?) And the on the third one, the fins on the mantle were discribed as "pathetic little stablisers" by a certain biology teacher at my school. Are they really just "pathetic little stablisers"?

With this debate about the unexpected shape of the eye in the living giant squid photo, I think this unusual image makes a very interesting comparison. I'll leave any conclusions to those 'in the know'.

Photo obtained from this site (http://leatherwoodonline.com/tassiestories/2004/squid/squid2.htm)

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/files/giantsquideye.jpg

Here is the amazing 'eye' photo from a specimen reinstated. Matt did a colour corrected version, maybe he's still got it stored and would be kind enough to post it?

http://www.tonmo.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1395&stc=1&d=1127812759

Shiver me timbers .... I didn't think anyone cared, or cared enough to remember various posts ... but you do. Kind-of makes this obsession all worth while. Not that I'm obsessed of course. I hate this animal with a passion!! If it wore lipstick it would be in twubble!

um..is that fishing gear beside the eye? Are they using that as bait?

um..is that fishing gear beside the eye? Are they using that as bait?

Looks like it Chrono. I'm afraid this another picture is another we have not been able to supply a history for. It does appear to be quite old, but the fishing gear gives a good impression of size; the fishing rod reel seems to about the same size as the eye.

Oh and we certainly do care Steve! As soon as an Archi story pops up we still pounce on it. I imagine quite a few of us have 'Giant Squid' set as a Google News alert.

Go Google; you'll not be disappointed. On that note, tiz time for :sleeping:
Nighty from the great southern hemisphere

Oh and we certainly do care Steve! As soon as an Archi story pops up we still pounce on it. I imagine quite a few of us have 'Giant Squid' set as a Google News alert.

ha ha yes, do you get a lot of

"... Who else loves octopus like Joso's? Or does fragrant squid ink risotto? ... Not so the giant grilled prawns, which are of impeccable quality and perfectly grilled. ... "

like I do?

yes, I have "squid" "giant squid" "Steve O'Shea", "Giant Octopus" and "tonmo.com" set for my google alert. Much info us found on sea food grills.

Go Google; you'll not be disappointed. On that note, tiz time for :sleeping:
Nighty from the great southern hemisphere

Night Doctor.

yes, I have "squid" "giant squid" "Steve O'Shea", "Giant Octopus" and "tonmo.com" set for my google alert. Much info us found on sea food grills.

Yeah, I also have "Colossal Squid" too. We must know of the menu from every sea food grill serving squid in the english-speaking world.

The most informative one was something about a Moroteuthis...the contents which I do no remember.

Here is quite an interesting image of an Architeuthis I have not seen before on a
Japanese website. Don't get too excited, it's dead, but nonetheless looks like a particularly large and intact specimen to me.

Anyone able to have a crack at translation?

http://www.fish.metro.tokyo.jp/bunjyo/ogasawara/1-6/

The third one looks werid, the tentables look a bit too thin and long and the head two round (perhaps it was only me or beuase the rest of the mantle was blocked) but that's what I personally think.

Here is quite an interesting image of an Architeuthis I have not seen before on a
Japanese website. Don't get too excited, it's dead, but nonetheless looks like a particularly large and intact specimen to me.

Anyone able to have a crack at translation?

http://www.fish.metro.tokyo.jp/bunjyo/ogasawara/1-6/

Yeep! :shock:

The top one looks like archi, but the bottom one's all thin and the arms all weird.

there's a phone number at the bottom....:sly:

The top one looks like archi, but the bottom one's all thin and the arms all weird.

Yep, the lower picture is the gelatinous Asperoteuthis. Please click on this link to the Tree of Life pages for more info:

Asperoteuthis (http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Asperoteuthis%20sp.%20A)

Brilliant!

Thanks Phil, after viewing the drawings in the TOL link I can now see what I think are the tentacles folded back on the original photo.

The 'Breaking News' section of http://www.forteantimes.com is also very useful for squid and anamolous sea creatures.

Escaped Assassin dolphins up there at the time of typing. :goofysca:

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1577753,00.html

see!

Go Google; you'll not be disappointed.
Alright, then. Googling...

:shock:

http://www.arabtimesonline.com/arabtimes/breakingnews/view.asp?msgID=10239

!

Cheers,
Clem

ps: I am not disappointed.

Holy Grasping Tentacles! :bugout:

So they are active! Not just hanging around waiting for stuff to come to them. That is VERY pleasing.

Wow! Got to see that footage!

Thanks Clem.

Arab Times: First for news of Giant Squid.

WOW, THAT IS THE COOLEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN! IT LOOKS LIKE IT WANTS TO ATTACK THE CAMERA! ... or maybe just give it a hug?

Oh ye gods and garlic dumplings! This is beyond words, just woah....
(Hope more news to come soon!)

More news:

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,16743549%255E663,00.html

At 900m, an 8m squid lunged at the bait bag, succeeding only in getting itself impaled on the hook.

For the next four hours, the squid tried to get free as the camera snapped away, gaining not only unprecedented pictures but also precious information about how the squid is able to propel itself.

After a monstrous battle, the squid eventually freed itself but left a giant tentacle on the hook.

When the severed limb was brought to the surface, its huge suckers were still able to grip the boat deck and any fingers that touched them.

Results of a DNA test from the tentacle concur with that of other samples taken from washed-up squid.

Their deep-sea pictures suggest the squid is far from being the "sluggish, neutrally buoyant" creature it has traditionally been deemed to be.

Quite the opposite, say the Japanese duo.

The giant squid is an active predator that attacks its prey horizontally, and its two long tentacles coil up into a ball after the strike, rather like pythons that rapidly envelop their prey in their sinuous curves. – AFP

How exciting is this?

After reading the first Reuters news item, I reached for a cigarette. Then I decided I should eat something, instead. Then I thought I should drink some more coffee, but not before reaching for a cigarette, which I attempted to place above my ear, dislodging the first cigarette I'd already stuck there. Then I ran around the room, drank some coffee, and reached for another cigarette, having forgotten about the two I'd already pulled from the pack. Now, I've eaten my cinammon buns, and have a goofy smile plastered across my face.

Architeuthis on camera, at depth and alive. It happened in our lifetimes, folks. Holy ****.

I need a cigarette.

Cheers,
Clem

Note: Smoking is very, very bad for you. If you don't smoke, don't start. That is all.

http://www.news24.com/News24/Technology/News/0,,2-13-1443_1806965,00.html

Hmmmmmmmmm. That all happened a lot quicker than I thought.:hmm:

Hmmmmmmmmm. That all happened a lot quicker than I thought.:hmm:

I can't seem to find any such article in the contents of Proceedings of the Royal Society B through the 22 October issue-- looks like some press people got their hands on a pre-print? (but no pictures!)

Oh yes, it was most certainly embargoed! There are a couple of photos in the article, but I'm saying no more until I find out what's up.

Oh yes, it was most certainly embargoed! There are a couple of photos in the article, but I'm saying no more until I find out what's up.

Loose lips sink ships :sink:

If they're going to leak the story, the least they could do is include the pictures, too!

Yep, the lower picture is the gelatinous Asperoteuthis.

We're not 100% sure what we've got coming in the 'mail', but it's something like this, or possibly Grimalditeuthis. Whatever it is it is BIG; we've only received photos so far, and they're pretty stunning, but until we get the specimen (there are two; one is coming later) we'll not know for sure. In all honesty, this brute is a lot rarer than Archi (actually not that uncommon at all); as soon as we get our sticky little fingers on the 'beast(s)' we'll post away:madsci: .

We're not 100% sure what we've got coming in the 'mail', but it's something like this, or possibly Grimalditeuthis. Whatever it is it is BIG; we've only received photos so far, and they're pretty stunning, but until we get the specimen (there are two; one is coming later) we'll not know for sure. In all honesty, this brute is a lot rarer than Archi (actually not that uncommon at all); as soon as we get our sticky little fingers on the 'beast(s)' we'll post away:madsci: .

This is too much! Incredibly exciting. I can't wait to see those photos. Thanks Dr Steve, you remain a man of honour and integrity despite our constant badgering and pestering.

one pic in the times, but they overlaid a stupid chart on it. they do, however, provide the obligatory london bus:

http://images.thetimes.co.uk/TGD/picture/0,,231534,00.jpg

this is a link from the bottom of the article (which pretty much restates the earlier articles posted) at:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1800968,00.html

:bugout: :archi: :mrgreen:

That's a nice pic, but what's this one?

(warning, big pic)

Wow -- nice find on the article Monty... dated in the future!

Cletus, great pic, where did you get that? (Have I seen that before, I wonder?)

I googled it. Just did an image search for Giant Squid.

It turned up here:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/1/prweb196341.htm

Seems I acted too rashly the article says it's a Humbolt...

Here be the National Geographic slideshow:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/09/photogalleries/giant_squid/index.html

"Fearful symmetry," indeed.

Holy ****.

Clem

Cletus, that's got to be Dosidicus. Hasn't it?