Discovery: Alien of the Deep
Shell Oil Company accidentally films a sea monster at a depth of 2.5km.
National Geographic news 24/11/08, reported the discovery of a previously unseen species of squid.
The odd, “elbowed” squid was filmed 11/11/07, at a depth of 2.5 kilometres by the Shell Oil Company who were using an ROV (Remotely operated vehicle) in the Gulf of Mexico.
Hence the “Alien” comparison
Check out this amazing footage of the creature
The squid appears to be a relative of “Magnapinna” squid – or “Bigfin” squid – first discovered in 2001, sightings of which are extremely rare – no adult samples have yet been scientifically examined.
There is something truly fascinating about these secretive creatures.
The legend of the Kraken and giant sea serpents are thought to have been spawned by sailors catching sight of (all or part of) the elusive giant squid.
10 Squid Facts
1. Squid have 8 arms and two tentacles, each endowed with hooks and/or suckers and sucker rings.
2. In 2007, New Zealand fisherman captured what is thought to be the biggest ever squid – 18 metres long and over 900 kg in weight. (source: giant squid)
3. The penis of the giant squid is the length of his body (excluding head and tentacles), during mating, the male runs the risk of the female severing the penis with her sharp beak.
4. Squid beaks are undergoing extreme scientific analysis to assist in the development of replacement knees and hips. The beak is made of a blend of protein, complex carbohydrates and water – the beak evolves from a soft to hard material towards the tip, ensuring that the appendage does not damage the softer tissue that it is attached to.
5. Squid have pigmented skin cells which provide camouflage when a predator is in the vicinity. The skin also has an iridescence, which many believe is a used as a hidden communication channel between squid. Camouflage can be maintained whilst warning other squid of predators or the position of other squid. This ability along with an impressive spatial learning capacity, navigational ability and predatory techniques, leads observers to note squid to be intelligent.
6. Giant squid have been known to hold their own in a fight with a whale. The squid wraps its long arms around the whale and squeezes. Although the whale will be victorious almost all of the time (if it is big enough), many whales are left battle scarred by the giant squids tentacles.
7. In 1861, an alleged encounter between a giant squid and French naval ship, fuelled the imagination of author Jules Verne, who used it as the basis for Captain Nemo’s encounter with a “squid of colossal dimensions” in the book Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
8. Stiff rods of connective tissue formed inside the squid, which give it support, are called “pens”. Fossil squid “pens” discovered in Southern Manitoba are among the largest known, indicating sizes ranging up to sixty feet in length. The squid pen is often discarded when preparing squid for food – however, scientists discovered that the gel surrounding the pen contains effective anti-bleeding and anti-scarring properties, the drug “Chitodex” has been patented and is being successfully used to assist surgical operations (it has been found to be particularly effective in sinus surgery).
9. The eye of the giant squid is the largest animal eye on the planet, in the specimens found, the eye is approximately 11 inches in diameter (the size of a dinner plate).
10. Squid are among the fastest invertebrates on earth. They can travel through the water at up to 40 km/h. When escaping predators, some squid can jump 3 metres (12 feet) out of the water.
As technological advances are made in submersible apparatus, the deeper into our oceans we will be able to venture and who knows what further monsters of the deep will be revealed to us!
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38 Responses to “Discovery: Alien of the Deep”
On November 27, 2008 at 5:18 am
Great article,you got some interesting pictures in there.
On November 27, 2008 at 5:36 am
nice article………especially i liked pictures
On November 27, 2008 at 6:01 am
wow that was indeed deep at 2.5 km. what a creature!amazing.
On November 27, 2008 at 6:44 am
What an amazing animal!
On November 27, 2008 at 6:51 am
This is really… awsome!
On November 27, 2008 at 7:38 am
awesome!
On November 27, 2008 at 7:56 am
Some good research there. Well presented.
On November 27, 2008 at 9:30 am
i love squid! things like this make me so happy!!!!!!!!
On November 27, 2008 at 10:53 am
Awesome article and pictures.
On November 27, 2008 at 11:16 am
How interesting, I have never really thought about squid before, except when they are served up for a meal. Thanks for sharing
On November 27, 2008 at 1:21 pm
What’s with the picture of the excavated fossil thing? A squid?!
On November 27, 2008 at 1:28 pm
THAT IS AMAZING!!! and YES your right……IT DOES LOOK ALIEN!
On November 27, 2008 at 2:13 pm
great article. did you know that squid are 98% edible? everything except the beak can me made into yummy calimari.
On November 27, 2008 at 2:25 pm
very interesting,
On November 27, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Eeek! I would hate to run into this in a dark pond or even a dark alley.
On November 27, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Very interesting! I always love these mysterious creatures. Honestly, I feel there are more unknown creatures lurking in the sea that we’re not aware of. Just that, it’s like a different world…that’s why we cannot discover them.
On November 28, 2008 at 5:38 am
Interesting creatures. Well researched piece.
On November 28, 2008 at 8:43 am
I love calamari!
On November 28, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Awesome article! I learned a lot! Great pics!
On November 28, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Wow very interesting indeed. Thanks for some good reading
On November 28, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Genial job i like articles speak alien etc… congratulations
On November 29, 2008 at 8:35 am
The wonders of ocean creatures! Great article!
On November 29, 2008 at 11:54 am
These are guys are bizarre but, they taste sooo good!
On November 29, 2008 at 7:25 pm
scary pics lol
On November 30, 2008 at 12:54 am
Great article. Makes you wonder what else there is deep down in the oceans.
On November 30, 2008 at 1:05 am
I love the content, very detailed article.
Sooky to know it is out there,very fascinating.
On November 30, 2008 at 5:23 am
A truly amazing critter lurking deep down there. You added great information to the story after the point of the article – the new squid.
Good Work ;j
On November 30, 2008 at 8:57 am
I like this kind of scene. I like this and hopefully to see them one day. Hehehe…
On November 30, 2008 at 9:38 am
hhhhhh
On November 30, 2008 at 3:04 pm
This is a great article. I try to keep up with animal life, but I must have missed this elbowed squid.
Jax
On November 30, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Awsome!
On November 30, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Very interesting article. I think there are numerous creatures swimming around the deep ocean. Ultimately its a whole different world down there, and Im sure there are some scary beasties we couldnt even imagine! Well done.
On December 1, 2008 at 7:37 am
Cool the vid is finally out.
I saw this originally when talkingot another colleague in another oil company in April. The squid reminded me of the tv show Invasion…..creepy.
On December 1, 2008 at 7:52 am
Wow that’s really cool – brilliant interesting reading. Fact number 3 made me laugh (in a sympathetic way of course).
On December 2, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Wow this looks like real proof of supernatural beings! And I always thought they were made up things in movies.
On December 9, 2008 at 5:37 pm
is this real??
how big is it?
On March 18, 2009 at 1:23 pm
There are lots of other species that haven’t been found by man yet. This is just one of those.
Give it time and you will see many more emerging.
On March 24, 2009 at 9:56 am
shopped
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