I know its been threaded to death, but Giant squid finally seen! (rant included)

erich orser said:
I think they eat - and forgive me if I'm spelling this wrong - hoki?

These chaps here?

60-100 cm, quite big!
 

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Ahum... Please inform me if the posting of a publicly available abstract is infringing copyright, in which case I would offer my apologies:


Journal of Heredity Advance Access originally published online on March 2, 2005
Journal of Heredity 2005 96(4):417-423; doi:10.1093/jhered/esi036

© The American Genetic Association. 2005. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: [email protected].

Brief Communication

Genetic Screening for Prey in the Gut Contents from a Giant Squid (Architeuthis sp.)
B. E. Deagle, S. N. Jarman, D. Pemberton, and N. J. Gales

From the Zoology Department, University of Tasmania, GPO Box 252-05, Hobart, 7001, Australia (Deagle); Australian Antarctic Division, Channel Highway, Kingston, 7050, Australia (Deagle, Jarman, and Gales); and Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, GPO Box 1164, Hobart, 7001, Australia (Pemberton)



Giant squids (Architeuthis sp.) remain mysterious; they have evaded observation and are rarely taken from their deep sea habitat. Information on the diet of Architeuthis is scarce due to the limited number of specimens with morphologically recognizable remains in their digestive tracts. We explored the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods for detection of DNA in the prey remains and amorphous slurry from an Architeuthis gut sample. The DNA region amplified varied in size, allowing separation of fish and squid components. Sequence comparisons identified fish prey as Macruronus novaezelandiae. Isolation of Architeuthis DNA from an ingested tentacle and the presence of chitin fragments indicate cannibalism occurs in giant squid. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis was used to screen for less common DNA types, revealing a high frequency of PCR-generated false alleles, but no additional prey species.

PS: for those unaware of nomenclature, Macruronus novaezelandiae is indeed hoki
 
We also found the remains of arrow squid (Nototodarus spp.) in the gut contents of the one we reported, so they also take smaller squid (total length to ~70cm, we think... plus that Archi tentacle club :roll: ).
 
My personal opinion is squid are pretty opportunistic..........if it moves eat it!!!! I've seen stuff in guts ranging from Krill to Lanternfish to Hoki, Warehou and Red Cod, each other, with the odd shark thrown in for good measure! and that's for smallish species (well compared to Archi and Messie anyway:biggrin2: )

J
 
chrono_war01 said:
sharks!?:bugout:

So, these squids tackle sharks or do they seem to feed on the hapless little sharkies?

Yup sharks! Ok so it was a Moroteuthis ingens (pretty big! ML ~500mm if I remember correctly) and it was a Dogfish (but they get to a metre or so in length) but I wouldn't be at all surprised if we find some of the larger squid eating shark. Reconstructed weights and lengths of some of the Nototodarus sloanii prey I've been looking at put them bigger than the squid that ate them!!

J
 
Any chance on an inside scoop, pun intended, on gut contents of the record Mesonychoteuthis described in full by SOS and the lovely Ms. Tintenfisch?

I know it came as a three part jigsaw, but I'm not sure that included a gutted mantlepiece...

(drumroll, crowd goes "boooooo")

Or should I simply study my literature before asking? 8o)
 
Unfortunately the stomach/caecum was gone - the mantle was broken open where it should have been, and it presumably 'fell out' at some stage during the retrieval-freezing process. (Unless, of course, it contained bits of one of the fishermen who got too close (let's call him 'Ahab'), and they had to remove it to get rid of any evidence that they might have 'collected' it for revenge purposes... hmmm :goofysca: ). Anecdotal evidence of gnawed Toothfish coming up on longlines, plus the association of this specimen with Toothfish longlining, suggest that probably at least part of the diet is... guess... Toothfish!
 

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