Use it or lose it, then.

Is it only in squid that this phenomenon is observed?

Wild stab in the dark, but how autonomous would thier 'Hey small live thing, grab it and eat it' reflex be? If it's pretty reflexive normally could that be one reason why it seems to go away around the time thier own young may soon be floating around being, well, small live things in arms reach?

Ok, but how would that explain the same thing occurring with males? They aren't brooding. Is it simply related to senescence?

Ok, but how would that explain the same thing occurring with males? They aren't brooding. Is it simply related to senescence?

Because some of the small live things floating around at about that time may be thier own offspring carrying thier genes?

or perhaps to show solidarity with the females? Some human males wear those false pregnan belly things after all :wink:

Ok probably it's senescence but I just thought I'd throw the idea out there (the first one not the second).

Wild stab in the dark, but how autonomous would thier 'Hey small live thing, grab it and eat it' reflex be? If it's pretty reflexive normally could that be one reason why it seems to go away around the time thier own young may soon be floating around being, well, small live things in arms reach?

I have about that too but, at least with the Mercs (others have reported similar observations with other octos though), the adults did not eat anything that small.

I can think of a whole lot of better ways for human males to show solidarity with females.

I seriously doubt that male squid would even recognize the female he fertilized, let alone care.

I have about that too but, at least with the Mercs (others have reported similar observations with other octos though), the adults did not eat anything that small.

Curses, another theory broken on the rocks of observations of reality. Darn the scientific method I say, Darn it to heck!

Curses, another theory broken on the rocks of observations of reality. Darn the scientific method I say, Darn it to heck!

It ruins all the fun doesn't it? Wild speculation is much more enjoyable? :grin:

Curses, another theory broken on the rocks of observations of reality. Darn the scientific method I say, Darn it to heck!

The observation may not hold true at all for squid :twisted:

I have about that too but, at least with the Mercs (others have reported similar observations with other octos though), the adults did not eat anything that small.

Hunh?!?! Adult mercs (or other octos) won't eat something the size of mysids or gammarus? Hmmm... now that I think about it, I don't remember ever trying to feed them anything that small on purpose. I do know the gammarus population has been decimated though!

Hunh?!?! Adult mercs (or other octos) won't eat something the size of mysids or gammarus? Hmmm... now that I think about it, I don't remember ever trying to feed them anything that small on purpose. I do know the gammarus population has been decimated though!

But yours are not yet egg laying size/age. It would be interesting to put in something about the size of a new hatchling even now though since they are effecient with the fiddlers. I still have pods in the tank that housed Sisturus and Medusa and now houses Wiley. However, I did suspect that my males were invading the breeder net now that I think about it.

I SAW STEVE ON TV pretty cool show lol... just wanted to know i didnt see it how big exactly was the beak? do think a squid like that could take on a sperm whale and win?

never mind found my answer while reading the rest of posts steve you have my dream job

What about research of a live one? There must be some kind of deep sea camera that can withstand the harshness of the Ross Sea.

Apparently, it has already been shown in the UK (http://uk.tv.yahoo.com/listings/discovery-channel-uk/2008-09-09/22-00/)... I still have no clue how to find out when, if at all, it'll be broadcasted in the Netherlands :sad:

To answer the above query, first and foremost :welcome:

Secondly, have you got 40K per day of operation lying about, somewhere? Research expeditions cost hefty amounts of money, it is (almost) never a matter of technical insufficiency, (almost) always a matter of funding.

So unfair.:sad: I suppose we might never see one truly alive.

We will, I am positive :wink:

On a recent BBC program, Pacific Abyss, they had a diver go down in a Newt Suit - it was very creepy....I could just imagine them stumbling across a giant or colossal squid just hanging there, in the darkness....

The theories more often suggested (in squid at least) [about the loss of tentacles at maturity/senescence] are that a) the gonads take up so much room in the mantle that there's no room for food in the stomach/caeca; b) the squid focuses all its energy on gonad & egg production and simply stops feeding; and/or the muscle tissues begin degenerating as the eggs mature, so that the animal is perhaps physically unable to pursue food anymore. Or any combination of the above. :smile:

I had one more thought on this - if the muscular tissue is degenerating with age, yet the squid (either sex) keeps hunting as it is accustomed to do, perhaps the tentacles are lost when the squid latches onto a prey item it would previously have had no trouble with, but now cannot manage.

I am wondering about a few more things.
Do we know exactly how large these things can get? I know the largest LRL is 49mm, but could they possibly get too big for the whales to catch? And what are the hooks made of? I've looked for this information in other places, but after reading previous parts of this forum (mainly the 49cm LRL part :lol:) I realized you guys are the only ones who really know what you're talking about.

I doubt the practicality of a squid that big, actually. Being in such a deep location where food and oxygen is scarce and growing to so big a whale can't catch just seems kinda far-fetched to me.

Very true, crono_war01.

I wonder is there a calculation of how big a squid can get based on the bio-mass, relative roaming range (for prey) and how capable it is as a predator.

Then we can factor in would the relative size affect it being a prey.

There is. Multiply by 3.5, divide by brain weight, log it by the power of creativity, and then multiply that by a proxy of divine intervention