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Rare giant squid captured by sperm whale researchers in Gulf of Mexico
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| Contributor | Brandonius Maximus |
| Last Edited | Brandonius Maximus Sep 22, 2009 05:31pm |
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| Category | News |
| Author | Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune |
| Media | Newspaper - New Orleans Times-Picayune |
| News Date | Tuesday, September 22, 2009 11:30:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Looking something like an alien being from the movie "Independence Day," the 19 1/2-foot-long, 103-pound giant squid pulled from 1,500 feet beneath the Gulf of Mexico recently is helping marine scientists better understand the eating habits of sperm whales.
Biologists with the Minerals Management Service are attempting to identify the fish and squid species preferred by the estimated 1,665 sperm whales that call the Gulf their home, said MMS research biologist Deborah Epperson.
During a recent cruise to study the movements of Gulf sperm whales, which are genetically distinct and smaller than sperm whales found in other oceans, the scientists conducted tests on a new trawl net designed to sample fish and squid in the deep water where the huge whales graze.
"We know that elsewhere, they eat squid and fish, but we really don’t know what they eat in the Gulf," Epperson said.
The unusual find — only the second giant squid found whole in the Gulf — was caught during the test trawl. Photos of the specimen were sent to experts who confirmed it was Architeuthis -- the scientific name for giant squid -- and the squid itself was sent to the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History for further study.
The first giant squid on record in the Gulf was found in 1954, floating on the water’s surface, Epperson said. However, giant squid have been found in the stomachs of sperm whales that have beached on the Gulf shoreline, she said.
But they’re considered a rare treat for the whales, as they’re more likely to have feasted on smaller, more common squid species. |
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