New Zealand's mysterious colossal squid, the largest of the feared and legendary species ever caught, was not the T-Rex of the oceans but a lethargic blob, new research suggests. The 495 kilogramme (1,090-pound) female, accidently hauled in by a fishing boat in the Antarctic last year, was an overweight breeding machine, leading marine biologist Steve O'Shea told AFP Thursday.The colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni), donated to the country's national museum, was probably quite docile when alive, said O'Shea. "The colossal species has a reputation for being an aggressive and dangerouspredator and have been feared and misrepresented in the past," O'Shea said."My research suggests they're not the T-rex of the sea, they get more docile as they mature, a strange phenomenon that has caught scientists off guard. "We are looking at something verging on the incredibly bizarre.
As she got older she got shorter and broader and was reduced to a giant gelatinous blob, carrying many thousands of eggs," he said.
"Her shape
was likely to have affected her behaviour and ability to hunt. I can't
imagine her jetting herself around in the water at any great speed, and
she was too gelatinous to have been a fighting machine.
"It's likely she was just
blobbing around the seabed carrying her brood of eggs, living on dead
fish, while her mate was offhunting."
The squid began to reveal
its secrets to a team of fascinated scientists in April when it was
thawed after being frozen on the fishing boat.
They were struck initially by her beach ball-sized eyes, describing them as the biggest known in the animal kingdom.
The enormous eyes would
help the squid locate prey in the dark of its habitat 1,000 metres
(3,300 feet) or more below the surface of Antarctic waters.
Two long tentacles carry up
to 25 rotating hooks each, while eight arms each contain up to 19 fixed
hooks used to capture prey and bring it to the squid's beaked mouth.
O'Shea and his colleagues believe larger squid still lurk in the southern ocean depths.
The New Zealand squid's
lower beak measures around 40 centimetres across, while other beaks
have beenfound -- usual......
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Strange creature found washed up on beach
Mystery creature found in Okanagan Lake
"Mermaid" sightings grip Israel
Monster bug attaches itself to submarine
Sweden's Loch Ness monster possibly caught on camera
Cyprus official search for lake monster
Investigation demanded in to "lake monster" deaths
Monster spotted in Lake Windermere
Dinsdale insists Nessie photos were real
Orkney beast 'similar to Nessie'
