Architeuthis; fast, stupid monster or fairly passive and slow?

[forbidden_moose]

I had recently read the topic about common media misconceptions about architeuthis, and was interested on how most media reports depict architethis as a monsterous creature, all but an apex predator, and that it is a fast moving nd stupid animal, even citing the photographs taken in 2006 as evidence for this sort of behaviour. This is the most common cultural preception of these animals. Most members and myself seem to doubt this sort of behaviour and characteristics as actually being present in architethis, what do we all think?

 

[Cuddlycuttlefsh]

I think they are much more active than we all thought they were, if you also see the video of when the japanese scientist actually caught the squid on tape you can see how fast it's pulling the camera down to the depths

 

[OB]

The clue lies in the very small fin and long flimsy tentacles, this leads me to assume it to be a passive hunter. Because of the large eyes, the head is in fact incredibly fragile, not very well suited to be put in harm's way, either.

 

[Cuddlycuttlefsh]

The clue lies in the very small fin and long flimsy tentacles, this leads me to assume it to be a passive hunter. Because of the large eyes, the head is in fact incredibly fragile, not very well suited to be put in harm's way, either.

Well yeah and that too. But when you mentioned about tentacle(or arms) to mantle ratio that made me stop and thing for little bit. Colossal is the exact opposite description of what we are seeing on the Giant Squid. Now I'm wondering what's the behavior of the Colossal Squid whether it's slow and passive? There's nothing good on the internet that's for sure, and even some of the footages of when that famous specimen of the Colossal Squid that was caught alive would't be much of a help either...

 

[Tintenfisch]

Based on morphology (in the absence of m/any live observations), many of us think that Mesonychoteuthis is likely to be a much more active and fast-moving animal than Architeuthis. The colossal's tentacles are shorter and appear more powerful, its mantle is fused to the head in three places (as in all other members of the family Cranchiidae), and its mantle and fin musculature is very thick, with the fins also being relatively quite large. It therefore appears much better suited to fast swimming and rapid direction changes than the giant squid is, given its long tentacles, relatively weakly attached head and small fins (like OB said).

 

[Cuddlycuttlefsh]

Oh, Yeah the fins...I forgot, the size of the mantle may be associated with it's unrealistically huge fins. But do forget how much demand of food and energy it is to move and hunt for the animal, there have been many inferences that colossal squid are slow-ambush predators.