Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni is likely a visual predator due to its extremely large eye which can reach up to about 30 cm in diameter.
Communication Channels: visual ; chemical
Other Communication Modes: pheromones
Perception Channels: visual ; chemical
The sperm whale, Physeter catodon is a known predator of M. hamiltoni. Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni may prey on or fight with P. catodon.
Known Predators:
While no adults have been located or observed, M. hamiltoni may reach up to 14 m in length with a mantle length of 2-4 m. This species is the largest known invertebrate. The eyes can measure up to 30 cm in diameter, possibly the largest in the animal kingdom. These squid have the largest beaks of any squid, along with 25 rotating hooks that are aligned in two rows at the ends of their tentacles.
Range length: 14 (high) m.
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; heterothermic ; bilateral symmetry
No adult M. hamiltoni specimens have been discovered so the lifespan of the organism is currently unknown.
Juveniles of M. hamiltoni swim in the upper 1000 m of the ocean and have not been found below 1000 m. The early stages are concentrated beneath the surface layer in the upper zone of the warm deep water, perhaps because at this depth biological activity is high resulting from spikes in phytoplankton biomass. Because adult beaks have been found in the stomachs of sperm whales, the adults must have reach depths of at least 2200 m.
Habitat Regions: polar ; saltwater or marine
Aquatic Biomes: abyssal
Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni occurs in the Southern Ocean from Antarctica to the southern tips of Africa, South America, and New Zealand. This species’ range coincides with the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
Biogeographic Regions: australian (Native ); antarctica (Native )
Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni has low prey requirements and feeds on large fish including the Patagonian toothfish, Dissostichus eleginoides. One 5 kg toothfish may provide enough energy for a 500 kg squid to survive for up to 200 days. As the squid grows older it moves into deeper and darker waters, possibly to reduce the possibility of it being detected, and also to reduce predation pressure. Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni is thought to be an ambush predator that depends on its hooks to catch prey. Because of its size and probable energy intake, it most likely does not expend energy actively chasing its prey.
Animal Foods: fish
Primary Diet: carnivore (Piscivore )
Currently, little if anything is known about its distinct role in the ecosystem.
Not much is known about this species and any benefits that it might have on humans yet.
There are no known adverse affects of M. hamiltoni on humans. Because of its remote range, it is unlikely that this species has much of a negative economic effect on humans.
Not much is known about M. hamiltoni development because no adult organisms have ever been captured or observed.
Not enough is known on colossal squid populations to determine its conservation status.
Upon dissection of a mature male adult, there seems to be no hectocotylus, which in typical squids is the organ of sperm storage and transfer and is found at the end of one of the male’s tentacles. Instead, it is speculated that M. hamiltoni males have penises.
Little is known about the reproductive behavior of M. hamiltoni because no specimens have been observed live. In general, many squids have precopulatory rituals, and males seize females with their tentacles prior to mating. Fertilization is likely internal.
Key Reproductive Features: fertilization (Internal )
Little is known about the reproductive behavior of M. hamiltoni because no specimens have been observed live.
From the deep waters of Antarctica to star attraction at Te Papa, the colossal squid has been on a long and incredible journey...
Read more at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) is part of the family Cranchiidae.[3] It is sometimes called the Antarctic squid or giant cranch squid and is believed to be the largest squid species in terms of mass.[4] It is the only recognized member of the genus Mesonychoteuthis and is known from only a small number of specimens.[5] The species is confirmed to reach a mass of at least 495 kilograms (1,091 lb), though the largest specimens—known only from beaks found in sperm whale stomachs—may perhaps weigh as much as 600–700 kilograms (1,300–1,500 lb),[6][7] making it the largest known invertebrate.[4] Maximum total length has been estimated at 9–10 metres (30–33 ft).[8] The colossal squid has the largest eyes of any known creature ever to exist, with an estimated diameter of 27 cm (11 in).[9]
The species has similar anatomy to other members of its family although it is the only member of Cranchiidae to display hooks on its arms and tentacles.[10][11] It is known to inhabit the circumantarctic Southern Ocean.[4] Although little is known about the behaviour, it is known to use bioluminescence to attract prey.[12] It is presumed to be an ambush predator, and is a major prey of the sperm whale.[13][14]
The first specimens were discovered and described in 1925.[15] In 1981, an adult specimen was discovered, and in 2003 a second specimen was collected.[16][17] Captured in 2007, the largest colossal squid weighed 495 kilograms (1,091 lb),[18] and is now on display at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.[19][20]
The colossal squid shares features common to all squids: a mantle for locomotion, one pair of gills, and certain external characteristics like eight arms and two tentacles, a head, and two fins.[10] In general, it is safe to describe the morphology and anatomy of the colossal squid the same way one would describe any other squid.[10] However, there are certain morphological / anatomical characteristics that separate the colossal squid from other squids in its family: The colossal squid is the only squid in its family with hooks, either swivelling or three-pointed, equipped on its arms and tentacles.[11] There are squids in other families that also have hooks, but no other squid in the family Cranchiidae.[10]
Unlike most squid species, the colossal squid exhibits abyssal gigantism; it is the heaviest living invertebrate species, reaching weights up to 495 kg (1,091 lb).[4] For comparison, squids typically have a mantle length of about 30 cm (12 in) and weigh about 100–200 g (3+1⁄2–7 oz).[10]
The giant squid also exhibits deep-sea gigantism but the colossal squid is heavier.[4] However, giant squids are usually longer: up to 13m, compared with up to 10m for colossal squid.
It is unclear what the maximum weight for colossal squids is, as analysis of squid beaks found inside sperm whales' stomachs has demonstrated that it is likely that colossal squids much heavier exist, up to 700 kg or 1,500 lb.[6][7]
The colossal squid also has the largest eyes documented in the animal kingdom, with an estimated diametre of 30–40 cm (12–16 in).[21][22]
The squid's known range extends thousands of kilometres north of Antarctica to southern South America, southern South Africa, and the southern tip of New Zealand, making it primarily an inhabitant of the entire circumantarctic Southern Ocean.[4] Colossal squid are also sighted often near Cooperation Sea and less near Ross Sea because of its predator and competitor, the Antarctic toothfish.[23] The region between the Weddell Sea and the western Kerguelen archipelago has been deemed a “hotspot” based on characteristics of the habitat.[24] The squid's vertical distribution appears to correlate directly with age. Young squid are found between 0–500 m (0–1,640 ft), adolescent squid are found 500–2,000 m (1,600–6,600 ft) and adult squid are found primarily within the mesopelagic and bathypelagic regions of the open ocean.[4]
Little is known about their behaviour, but it is believed to feed on prey such as chaetognatha, large fish such as the Patagonian toothfish, and smaller squid in the deep ocean using bioluminescence.[12] A recent study by Remeslo, Yakushev and Laptikhovsky revealed that Antarctic toothfish make up a significant part of the colossal squid's diet; of the 8,000 toothfish brought aboard trawlers between 2011 and 2014, seventy-one showed clear signs of attack by colossal squid.[25] A study in Prydz Bay region of Antarctica found squid remains in a female colossal squid's stomach, suggesting the possibility of cannibalism within this species.[26] Studies measuring the δ15N content of the chitinous beaks of cephalopods to determine trophic ecology levels have demonstrated that the colossal squid is a top predator that is positively correlated with its increased size.[27] This new confirmation of the colossal squid's trophic level suggests that it likely preys on large fishes and smaller squids, according to its size, and that its predators include sperm whales and sleeper sharks.[27]
The colossal squid is thought to have a very slow metabolic rate, needing only around 30 grams (1 oz) of prey daily for an adult with a mass of 500 kilograms (1,100 lb).[28] Estimates of its energy requirements suggest it is a slow-moving ambush predator, using its large eyes primarily for prey-detection rather than engaging in active hunting.[28][14]
Many sperm whales have scars on their backs, believed to be caused by the hooks of colossal squid. Colossal squid are a major prey item for sperm whales in the Antarctic; 14% of the squid beaks found in the stomachs of these sperm whales are those of the colossal squid, which indicates that colossal squid make up 77% of the biomass consumed by these whales.[29] Many other animals also feed on colossal squid, including the beaked whales, such as southern bottlenose whales, Cuvier's and Baird's beaked whales; the beaked whales essentially resemble oversized dolphins, some with a more pronounced underbite on their snout (or "beak"). They are among the deepest-diving cetaceans ever recorded, besides the sperm whale. This places the beaked whales as some of the few food competitors of the sperm whale. Other possible squid predators include the pilot whale, killer whales, larger southern elephant seals, Patagonian toothfish,[30] southern sleeper sharks (Somniosus antarcticus), Antarctic toothfish, and albatrosses (e.g., the wandering and sooty albatrosses).[4] However, beaks from mature adults have only been recovered from large predators (i.e. sperm whales and southern sleeper sharks), while the other predators only eat juveniles or young adults.[31]
Not much is known about the colossal squid's reproductive cycle although the colossal squid does have two distinct sexes. Many species of squid, however, develop sex-specific organs as they age and develop.[32] The adult female colossal squid has been discovered in much shallower waters which likely implies that females spawn in shallower waters than their normal depth.[4] Additionally, the colossal squid has a high possible fecundity reaching over 4.2 million oocytes which is quite unique compared to other squids in such cold waters.[32] Colossal squid oocytes have been observed at sizes ranging from as large as 3.2x2.1 mm to as small as 1.4x0.5 mm. Sampling of colossal squid ovaries show an average of 2175 eggs per gram.[12] Young squid are thought to spawn near the summer time at surface temperatures of −0.9–0 °C (30.4–32.0 °F).[23]
For pelagic organisms of similar weight to the colossal squid, such as the swordfish, the average eye diameter required for visual detection is 10 cm, but colossal squid's are as large as 27 cm.[33][34] The allowed increase in visual detection strategies, including reduced diffraction blurring and greater contrast distinction, must be extremely beneficial to the colossal squid to justify the large energetic expenses to grow, move, camouflage, and maintain these eyes.[33] The colossal squid's increased pupil size has been mathematically proven to overcome the visual complications of the pelagic zone (the combination of downwelling daylight, bioluminescence, and light scattering with increasing distance), especially by monitoring larger volumes of water at once and by detecting long-range changes in plankton bioluminescence via the physical disruption of large moving objects (e.g., sperm whales).[33]
The colossal squid's eyes glow in the dark via long rectangularly shaped light-producing photophores located next to the lens on the front of both eyeballs.[35] Symbiotic bacteria reside within these photophores and luminesce through chemical reaction.[36]
It is hypothesized that the colossal squid's eyes can detect predator movement beyond 120 m, which is the upper limit of the sperm whale's sonar range.[33]
Squid have been found to detect the movement of sound waves via organs called statocysts (similar to the human cochlea).[37] Squid statocysts likely respond to low frequency sounds less than 500 Hz, similar to pelagic fish.[37] Colossal squid are essentially deaf to high frequencies (like whale sonar), so they rely largely on visual detection mechanisms to avoid predation.[33][38]
The colossal squid, species Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, was discovered in 1925.[15] This species belongs to the class Cephalopoda and family Cranchiidae.[3]
Most of the time, full colossal squid specimens are not collected; as of 2015, only 12 complete colossal squids had ever been recorded with only half of these being full adults.[5] Commonly, beak remnants of the colossal squid are collected; 55 beaks of colossal squids have been recorded in total.[5] Less commonly (four times), a fin, mantle, arm or tentacle of a colossal squid was collected.[5]
The species was first discovered in the form of two arm crowns found in the stomach of a sperm whale in the winter of 1924–1925.[15] This species, then named Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni after E. Hamilton who made the initial discovery, was formally described by Guy Coburn Robson in 1925.[15]
In 1981, a Soviet Russian trawler in the Ross Sea, off the coast of Antarctica, caught a large squid with a total length of over 4 m (13 ft), which was later identified as an immature female of M. hamiltoni.[16] In 2003, a complete specimen of a subadult female was found near the surface with a total length of 6 m (20 ft) and a mantle length of 2.5 m (8 feet 3 inches).[17] In 2005, the first full living specimen was captured at a depth of 1,625 m (5,331 ft) while taking a toothfish from a longline off South Georgia Island.[39] Although the mantle was not brought aboard, its length was estimated at over 2.5 m (8 feet 3 inches), and the tentacles measured 2.3 metres (7 feet 7 inches).[39] The animal is thought to have weighed between 150 and 200 kg (330 and 440 lb).[39]
The largest recorded specimen was a female, which are thought to be larger than males, captured in February 2007 by a New Zealand fishing boat in the Ross Sea off of Antarctica.[22] The squid was close to dead when it was captured and subsequently was taken back to New Zealand for scientific study.[40] The specimen was initially estimated to measure about 10 metres in total length and weigh about 450 kg.
Thawing and dissection of the specimen took place at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.[41] AUT biologist Steve O'Shea, Tsunemi Kubodera, and AUT biologist Kat Bolstad were invited to the museum to aid in the process, joined by Marine Ecologist Mark Fenwick and Dutch scientist Olaf Blaauw.[41] Media reports suggested scientists at the museum were considering using a giant microwave to defrost the squid because thawing it at room temperature would take several days and it would likely begin to decompose on the outside while the core remained frozen.[42] However, they later opted for the more conventional approach of thawing the specimen in a bath of salt water.[43] After thawing, it was found that the specimen was 495 kg with a mantle length of 2.5 m and total length of only 4.2 m, probably because the tentacles shrank once the squid was dead.[18]
Parts of the specimen have been examined:
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa began displaying this specimen from 13 December 2008. The exhibition was closed between 2018 and 2019, but is currently open again for public viewing at Te Papa.[19]
In August 2014, Te Papa received a second colossal squid, captured in early 2014.[20] The specimen was also female, measuring 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in) long and weighing approximately 350 kg (770 lb).[47]
The colossal squid has been assessed as "least concern" on the IUCN Red List.[1] Furthermore, colossal squid are not targeted by fishermen; rather, they are only caught when they attempt to feed on fish caught on hooks.[48] Additionally, due to their habitat, interactions between humans and colossal squid are considered rare.[49]
The colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) is part of the family Cranchiidae. It is sometimes called the Antarctic squid or giant cranch squid and is believed to be the largest squid species in terms of mass. It is the only recognized member of the genus Mesonychoteuthis and is known from only a small number of specimens. The species is confirmed to reach a mass of at least 495 kilograms (1,091 lb), though the largest specimens—known only from beaks found in sperm whale stomachs—may perhaps weigh as much as 600–700 kilograms (1,300–1,500 lb), making it the largest known invertebrate. Maximum total length has been estimated at 9–10 metres (30–33 ft). The colossal squid has the largest eyes of any known creature ever to exist, with an estimated diameter of 27 cm (11 in).
The species has similar anatomy to other members of its family although it is the only member of Cranchiidae to display hooks on its arms and tentacles. It is known to inhabit the circumantarctic Southern Ocean. Although little is known about the behaviour, it is known to use bioluminescence to attract prey. It is presumed to be an ambush predator, and is a major prey of the sperm whale.
The first specimens were discovered and described in 1925. In 1981, an adult specimen was discovered, and in 2003 a second specimen was collected. Captured in 2007, the largest colossal squid weighed 495 kilograms (1,091 lb), and is now on display at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
