[News]: Giant Squid Deaths Puzzle Scientists

Biarritz

On the future I will try to translate all french articles i will post.
But google translation tool is usefull.

The squid exposed at Biarritz museum is one of the "numerous" giant squids found at the beginning of the millenium by spanish fishermen. At last 3 or 4 specimens if my memory is good.

The "golfe de cascogne" or Biscaye Golf is well know for sperm whales migration for reproduction ....this region seems to provide sperm whales food too ^_^. This region is closed to France and Spain and there are sometimes conflicts cases ( including piracy acts) between French and spanish fishermen.

Biscaye Golf :
surface : 225 000 scare kilometers
max depth : 4 735 meters. ...
 
in addition of previous posts, here are some informations about giant squid ( A Dux) studies in spain near the Biscaye Golf ( close to spain and France).

It gives some technical informations about depth ( my opinion is that they searched too deep, Kubodera filmed architeutis at 900 meters if my memory is good).

Here are some questions about the reasons of giant squids deaths at the beggining of the century.
Seismic surveys may kill giant squid

Mr Kersauzon himself could have encountered a giant squid near Gibraltar. ( But this witness is debated)


Here is the article about the spanish expedition ( few years ago, They was no information about giant squids found in this expedition) :


"VIGO (AFP) - 21-08-2002 - A Spanish scientific expedition launched September 9 off the northeast coast of Spain is yet another attempt to find traces of Architeuthis, a giant flying squid in the depths abyssal and has never been filmed alive.

The waters of the Cantabrian Sea (Bay of Biscay) were chosen as field of research because they have already shipped several segments of dead giant squid, said Tuesday the project director, Fernando Gonzalez Sitges, at a conference press Vigo (north-east Spain).

One of the biggest pieces of squid giant identified to date, weighing 200 kg, was found a month ago aground on a beach in Australia in an area already explored without success, as funds off New Zealand, by teams of American, British, French or Australian.

Nobody has ever observed in the wild, between 300 and 1,500 meters deep, giant carnivorous mollusk, which scientists do not know life, varieties and social behavior or breeding.

Ignorance to the extent of the myth that has developed as the Kraken, a monster of legend who appears in the twelfth century in the stories of Norwegian fishermen who claimed he was able to enclose a ship from its huge tentacles and of the flow.

The Kraken has even inspired Jules Verne to the creature that attacked Captain Nemo in "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea".

More recently, the giant squid has been reduced to less phantasmagoric proportions, but still considers, evidence in support, it can attack ships, it merged with one of its prey, the sperm.

In a possible length of 30 meters, it has tentacles stretching up to 15 feet, a beak can shear a steel cable, but it has no ink, useless in the darkness of the abyss he searches for his big green eyes, the size of a human head.

The 25 men of "Project Kraken" - created by the production company of Transglobe Documentary Films and supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and several museums of natural sciences - were given two weeks to explore an area 40 miles Water north of Gijon.

Unlike a recent expedition to New Zealand from the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, scientists will not use Spanish submarine, in order not to frighten the fierce giant.

After a reconnaissance mission in October 2001, the tactics used this time is to descend to 1,500 meters three cameras linked by fiber optics to their research vessel, which will run continuously.

At the center of the triangle thus defined, one ton of organic bait, but also electronic and lighting will be arranged, hoping to excite the curiosity or greed of the giant squid."
 
Damien,
Thanks for presenting some of the European interests in ceph search/research we don't have much opportunity to view information not originally published in English!
 
You're welcome ^_^.

I'm disapointed by the poor interest to giant squids from the part of French scientists.

Unifying spanish and french scientists could provide more efficiency to future studies.

Well, like I told you in my presentation, biological research in France was and is clearly decreasing and marine biology is one of the less viable activity on the the gouvernement point of view. But it could change in the next years ...

Most of the future doctors leaved France to England, Canada or US and will stay there. You have to understand that except to become a high school professor, most of biology students have few opportunities ( I knew some students ( master level ) on the Income Support (minimum benefit paid to those with no other means of support) because they were unable to leave France and didn't want to change job ...

Now with scientists away from France , the study level is decreasing now ..

But there are at least some french private or public insitutes with active scientists : IFREMER ( more axed on fishery analysis)
I suggest you to discover this site http://www.ifremer.fr/anglais/ ( wow it's in english !)

Michel Ségonzac seems to be one of the french ifremer members asked about the Kersauzon encounter :
http://wwz.ifremer.fr/memoire/l_oceanographie/michel_segonzac
http://wwz.ifremer.fr/memoire/layout/set/print/l_oceanographie/michel_segonzac/video

here is the translation :

Michel Segonzac, bestiologue deep

Michel Segonzac not pass unnoticed. He is a person, a physical. It is no coincidence that in 1998, during the thirty years from the center of Brest, his photo was chosen as emblematic of the researcher. Imagine: a bearded man wearing a ponytail, his eyes glued on the microscope. And when you have the chance to meet, what are its emphasis warm south-west and his gravelly voice necessary. It gives off a very lively and communicative dynamism, but so far the scientist is no less serious, calm and composed, especially when he speaks of his creatures, as he says.

Mr. Gouillou / Ifremer 2007

Michel Segonzac has materialized at the end of his career dream of many researchers in zoology: discovering an unknown animal. He even gained global fame through the specimen of a new species, named "Galathée Yéti", whose photo has toured the world in 2006.

Michel Segonzac was hired in 1974 to assemble and manage a laboratory, the National Center sort of biological oceanography (Centob), a partnership between the Museum of Natural History in Paris and the National Center for ocean exploration (Cnexo ). His job is taxonomy, that is to say the description and classification of animal species. An activity that alternates cruises and sorting work in the laboratory, both routine and challenging as new specimens are identified. All punctuated by continuous exchange with taxonomists around the world.

The discovery of the existence of hydrothermal vents in 1977 by Americans, then the identification of cold seeps in 2002 by geologists, have disrupted the work of biologists. These two environments are host to a very large animal communities, hitherto completely unknown.

Today, the mission of exploration and identification of marine biodiversity is no longer a priority. Refraining from entering into substantive discussions on research directions, Michel Segonzac would simply invite young people to rediscover the work of naturalist.

here is more information in an article :
http://www.liberation.fr/sciences/0101398260-l-apparition-du-calmar-geant

The emergence of giant squid

12/29/2001

Sylvie Briet


If the Earth is undergoing a period of mass extinction due to man, it never ends but not to reveal new species. For the ocean huge reserves remain unknown, beyond the microscopic species. Scientists come and discover a new kind of squid vast and strange, armed with very fine arm that extends up to 7 meters long.

Geologists of Ifremer (French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea), on a mission aboard the Nautilus, had observed first in 1988 in the North Atlantic and had reported to Michel Segonzac biologist in the same institute. The researcher was able to study through video tapes reported by the mission: "It undulates, moving in reverse, has a very small head and arms disproportionately. For now, it is called squid with long arms, waiting for something better, "says he. Moreover, the mysterious creature appears totally unmoved by the presence of the submarine.

Its morphology is very different from everything we know. Since the first observation, it was again found out and filmed by Americans and Spaniards in the Pacific and Indian oceans, eight times in total, still in deep water (between 2 000 and 4 700 meters).

No specimens, however, could not be captured because the squid with long arms have always been seen by geologists who were not equipped to "suck" kind of animal. This unknown species has not yet been scientifically described, but researchers know that it is widespread. All who have studied the videos have pooled their observations to publish an article in Science magazine (1). "This discovery gives us an idea of how little we know about life in the depths of the ocean," the researchers conclude. It will take a screenshot and a study in good and due form to classify the mysterious cephalopod.

(1) Science, 21 December.

this last article is not talking about architeutis of course but long arm squid : Bigfin squid - Wikipedia.

the french "Nautile" batiscaph encoutered the first alive in 1988.

Michel Segonzac seems to be one of the french deep sea biologist but not studiying only squids..
 

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