Old-New Mesonychoteuthis Specimen?

Attached are three much larger versions of the photos referenced above. THIS IS NOT THE 450KG MESONYCHOTEUTHIS making headlines, it's another, likely smaller animal that may not have been preserved. The photographs are dated 8 January 2007, and were received via private correspondence. The sender received them from the captain of a longliner shortly after the encounter with the squid.

They brought this beast up along the Ross ice shelf (S.Georgia Islands) fishing for the Patagonian Tooth Fish (AKA Chilean Seabass). He says it is not the first time he has caught one, just the first time he was able to get some pics of it. He said the mantle alone was 12- 14 ft long.
This much of the story has been online for over a month now, having first posted on 18 January, but the site requires registration to view the pics. I'd really like to acknowledge the correspondents involved, but they're Anonymous for now. They've probably been getting a lot of mail in the last 48 hours, too. Hopefully the story will be told by the players soon, but for now: :notworth:

...and THIS IS NOT THE 450KG MESONYCHOTEUTHIS!

Clem
 

Attachments

  • conv_290279.jpg
    conv_290279.jpg
    103.3 KB · Views: 279
  • conv_290280.jpg
    conv_290280.jpg
    101.5 KB · Views: 301
  • conv_290281.jpg
    conv_290281.jpg
    103.1 KB · Views: 304
By the Power of Grayskull!

This is incredible stuff! Amazing work Clem!

It looks like they are trying to get it aboard, yet do I understand correctly that nothing was saved from this Colossal?
 
So that's why the proportions of the head appear so different in both specimens, good call, Adam!

Interesting to see it appears to be not wishing to let go of the toothfish, rather than being hooked itself...
 
Ob,

That weird beak photo from the Russian site you mentioned...is it the one attached below? I've attached a pic of the 2003 Ross Sea specimen's beak (with Steve's hands on it) for comparison. You're right, the mystery beak appears to be larger. So, which specimen did it belong to, one we know about or one that's been under the radar?

Cheers,
Clem
 

Attachments

  • conv_291778.jpg
    conv_291778.jpg
    3.8 KB · Views: 262
  • conv_291779.jpg
    conv_291779.jpg
    3.8 KB · Views: 249
That is indeed the one we discussed over a nondescript Irish ale during the Boston nanocon :wink:

Two options: the one with the thumb ring is Kat's hand, certainly more dainty than that of Steve "Ahab" O' Shae's, or we ARE looking at a separate, potentially larger specimen! The shadow cast on the index finger shows the size difference not to be an artefact of perspective, I dare the owner of said finger to repeat this experiment in vivo :shock:
 
Hi ob,

Good guess about it being a known specimen manipulated by a smaller hand, but...I've never seen that pic here at TONMO, and if that's Kat's hand it makes sense that the pic would have been posted here, yes? Something about the colors and quality of the image suggests to me that it's an older pic. Who knows?

If it isn't the 2003 Ross Sea Specimen, or the 2005 South Georgia specimen, or the 2007 monster, what could it be? The 1981 Russian beast? Could an immature female like that one have a more massive beak than an immature male?

So, any squid biologists out there wearing a silver band on their left thumb, please speak up!

Clem
 
WK,

He can have both if he owns the building.

Maybe that pic isn't of Mesonychoteuthis after all. The Russian news item pertained to February's colossal capture (if the Google translation is accurate), but maybe it's a pic of a big Archie beak with a smallish hand in the frame. It looks like a Meso beak (black and robust), but without sourcing info or other forms of corroboration, I have to concede that it could be a specimen of Journaloteuthis sloppiensis, a giant standing in for the colossal.

Clem
 
Babelfish seems to indicate the 2003 specimen, but the hue of orange on what appears to be arms in the background is more reminiscent of Architeuthis than of Mesonychoteuthis, yet I'm firmly in the meso camp on this one. Maybe it's a rare example of Imaginateuthis photoshoppicus? :smile:
 
Hi guys,

Sorry, been offline about a week. That photo is the beak of the 2003 Meso specimen, with the hand of a journalist named Kim Griggs, who authored this article. I had thought that the photo appeared in the article, but apparently not - in any case, it was taken by the photographer she brought along.
And just for the record, my hands are the same size as Steve's. :wink:
 
Thanks for the correction, Kat.

You know what they say about ladies with hands the same size as Steve's.* :sly:

Clem

*I don't know what they say.
 


Apologies if this photo has been posted elsewhere, but I'd not seen it. I added the watermark. The photo was originally posted by user hud2 at The Fishing Website, www.fishing.net.nz. Link to original posting here. No explanation, no dates, no nuttin' but one big-assed Meso. One we've already seen?

Clem
 

Attachments

  • conv_298191.jpg
    conv_298191.jpg
    344.9 KB · Views: 170

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top