In Search of Giant Squid
I'm keeping a log of all whale sightings out here with the hope of
eventually plotting them and getting an idea of where they're diving
and if there is a pattern. The Global Positioning System (GPS)
position is the location of the boat and the sperm whales are some few
hundreds of meters away... that could make a difference in actual
bottom depth, because of the steepness of the canyon walls...
Yesterday we were cruising very slowly and passed close
to an assembly of albatrosses all arranged in a tight circle. Lots of
squawking and wing flapping. Looked a hoot with all the long narrow
heads and beaks pointed into the center of the circle and the broad
rear-ends out at the periphery. I was on the wing of the bridge of the
Mystique and looked down on them as we passed.
I saw the unmistakable
maroon coloration of a squid! The albatrosses were all pecking and
tearing away at it! We swung around and Matt netted it up. By then it
was just a slab of mantle; would have been about 6-8" in diameter. It
was quite thick, all warty on the outside, pinky-maroon; inside was
solidly pigmented a dark maroon. The one remaining mantle-locking
component was very long, narrow. All clues led quite certainly to
Moroteuthis. It was in excellent condition, at least must have been
before the albatrosses got at it! We had seen a couple of whales in
the area earlier in the day, so I suspect this Moroteuthis was a
casualty of the sperm whales foraging. Gary recognized the surface
sculpture and said, "We fishermen call those warty squid"...a totally
appropriate moniker.
Smithsonian Natural History Web Home Page
gene carl feldman / gene@seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov