Friday 23 March 2007

Creature Feature: Attack of the Nuclear Colossal Squid!

You may recall last week I wrote a post about a 10m (33ft) long Colossal Squid weighing almost 500 kg (1,100lb) that was found in Antarctic waters. The squid was kept frozen by fisherman until the ship came home to New Zealand.

And now scientists are pondering how to thaw out the squid evenly. Zoologist, Steve O'Shea of the of Auckland University of Technology, said it could take days for the creature to defrost at room temperature - meaning that the outer flesh could rot by the time the centre thaws. So one option is an industrial-sized microwave oven that could be used to defrost the animal evenly before it is embalmed. Scientists and curators at New Zealand's national museum, Te Papa Tongarewa would like to preserve the amazing specimen for detailed study and display.

Don’t say we didn’t warn you Steve, you know what happens when you radiate animals: they grow gigantic and attack the city!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

If you are interested in this colossal squid, Te Papa currently hosts it. It will be dissected together with 4 giant and another colossal squid starting Monday 28 April. The dissection will be broadcasted live. More info can be found on our website: http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/squid/ and of course, on our blog: http://blog.tepapa.govt.nz/category/colossal-squid/ :)

bkstiff said...

The Giant squid are often featured in maritime legends and novels such as Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. (http://www.monsterssightings.com/sea-monster-sightings/colossal-squid.html)Though little is known about the specie, biologists believe that Colossal Squid compose 77% of the sperm whale’s diet.

bkstiff said...

The Giant squid are often featured in maritime legends and novels such as Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. http://www.monsterssightings.com/sea-monster-sightings/colossal-squid.html Colossal Squid compose 77% of the sperm whale’s diet.

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