[Featured]: Architeuthis (Giant Squid) Sightings

Yup, you're hooked.

I wonder what my deep-freezer is worth now, having been stunkyfied by giant squid gonad for a few years. There are bags of this, that and the other in there that even I've forgotten about. .... and I know the car has seriously devalued with all the crap I've thrown in it.

Baking soda is the key. After handling giant squid just make sure you use plenty of it in the washing/soak your gear in it. Not only is it great stuff for neutralising acidity (when formalin-fixing ammoniacal squid), it's great stuff for getting the stink out of your clothes.
 
Re: Pics

Whitey said:
:? ??? Burstovenergy, pics were made by the guys who found the squid, immediatly after they found it (more accurately after they removed it from the beach), THEN they used the flesh for baiting.
As a matter of fact, I was quite misquoted in the newspaper - and yes, I'm definitely "convinced" (!) what is sitting in my fridge is from a real giant squid... and it's not a head, but a buccal mass! -, but I guess I understood they were mainly wondering ( see : "... what is believed to be a giant squid... ") if more or less 4m long is giant enough to be a GIANT squid?
Well, let's wait and hope for the next one now... Got the right to dream, isn't it? :notworth:

Thanks for clearing that up Whitey!
 
New "evidence"?

:?: OK, not only I'm hooked, but I'm probably getting insane... Well, never mind, here are my new "Sherlock Holmes-typed" deductions : and if "my" area was (or was becoming) an Architeuthis one?
:jester: I'll try to explain how I came to this brilliant (?!) possible conclusion. This is due to the recent stranding (a few days ago) of a Sperm Whale on Hawston beach (see attached document).
This is not an absolute scoop, as some Sperm Whales are known to travel along the Southern South African coasts, but the fact is that they are very seldom watched.
Hawston is more or less 20 km from Pearly Beach, where this stranded/trawled Architeuthis was found some five weeks ago. Hawston is just West outside of Walker Bay, Pearly Beach just East outside. And Walker Bay is quite famous for its numerous Southern Right Whales and its much rarer Humpback, but, as far as I know, Sperm Whales are not considered as a regular part of the marine wildlife of the area. And it explains why this stranding deserved an article and a photograph in the local weekly newspaper...
So, knowing the food chain "relationship" between Sperm Whales and (giant) squids, I'm just wondering if this is just a coincidence?
Once again, the article is written in Afrikaans, and I will have to ask my sales lady to translate it for me tomorrow morning, but I guess I nevertheless understood the whale is still lying on the beach.
So I will of course try to learn more, and, why not, to get some "evidences", such as suckers scars on the skin... (could anyone 'hear' this poor crazy Whitey thinking "or some nice tentacle parts or even beaks amongst the stomach contents"? Poor little me, definitely and alarmingly hooked!).
To be followed (hopefully!).
PS : Dr O'Shea, please, please check your e-mails asap. I'm sorry, but I badly need your help for my beak... :oops:

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??? Cambodia?

I didn't hear or read anything about this, O.Vulgaris, but, as you pointed it out, I'm in Africa... and Cambodia is in Asia! :wink:
Cheers.
 
I alway's get confused lol, blame a guy for geography, what I was trying to say is that a local found a archi and brought it to Colenso or Estcourt, I'm not sure, but he found one and brought it back with him if im correct, it's in a reserve or zoo of some sort, start's with a W... :smile:
I should go and study my geography lol.
 
:? Sorry not to have been able to come for such a long time, but my life has been a little bit hectic (not only a little bit!) for a couple of weeks, and it's not over...
So this post just to say that this sperm whale body was so rotten that, apart the head, it was more or less like an empty bag. And bye-bye my crazy dreams about giant squid's remains in the stomach...
My beak is in the best possible condition (considering I didn't realise how really badly damaged it was when I got it), thanks to Dr O'Shea kind advice.
I had my slides of the buccal mass processed. As soon as I can find 10 mn to scan them (which also looks like a dream for the time being, but sometimes dreams come true, don't they?), I will post a couple of them here.
I hope no other Architeuthis will strand in the area during the next weeks :wink: I wouldn't find the time to go and look at it, even if it happened on the beach right under my house!!!
 
Whitey said:
I hope no other Architeuthis will strand in the area during the next weeks :wink: I wouldn't find the time to go and look at it, even if it happened on the beach right under my house!!!

Howdo Whitey. The likelihood of an Architeuthis stranding in the immediate future is now pretty remote, but get yourself ready for another lot from late December through to late February/early March.

Having said this, you'll probably be swamped by a dozen washing ashore tomorrow.
Cheers, O
 
.... and another one was delivered to us yesterday.

My head is low in shame for uttering the aforementioned (previous post) words.

We'll be out of town for a couple of days; we're on the road again to pick up new, weird and wonderful squids from the national museum (incoming material), and to pitch a few new research ideas at a talk.

More to come
O
 
Mega-Squid! (click here)

Running that term through image-search turned up a series of terrific photos of a very large squid dying on the coast of Japan. The animal lolls in a deep tidal pool, and a line has been fastened to it. The squid appears to have been alive when photographed, as the arms show quite a lot of movement between the individual frames, with one appendage appearing to slap atop one of the rocks ringing the pool. The URL provides the only English-language information on the pages, suggesting that the stranding took place in the Kyoto area, in February of 2002. Any TONMO'ers with Japanese reading ability, please take a crack at translating the text accompanying the photos.

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Some squid.

:heee:

Clem
 

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LIVING ARCHITEUTHIS PHOTO

It is Architeuthis Clem; I'm surprised the images are online .... there are more, and they're sensational, but they're not images that a doco company could use, as some of them are pretty barbaric (the ropes). The specimen is now preserved in Japan.

I first saw these last year, in addition to another quite stunning pic ... and I'll say no more. I'm glad that the images are finally online, as it is THE FIRST LIVE ARCHITEUTHIS EVER PHOTOGRAPHED!!!

The images were used to try and secure funds to get a submersible working trenches off Japan, but the bid to secure funds was not successful. It is a shame really.

There's more that can be added to this story.
 

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