Marine
07-24-2002, 8:04am
Expert: Giant Squid Not New Species
Tue Jul 23, 2:40 AM ET
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - A giant squid found washed up on an Australian beach was not a new species as first thought but a damaged specimen, a scientist said Tuesday.
The 550-pound creature was found dead Saturday on a beach in Hobart in Tasmania state. It had lost its two tentacles but would have been about 50 feet long.
Experts at the Tasmanian Museum were studying long, thin flaps of muscle attached to each of its eight arms — like keels — that they believed were unique to the squid.
But Steve O'Shea, a squid specialist with New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, said all giant squid had the keels, which were used to help it swim.
"It definitely isn't a new species," said O'Shea, who had studied photos of the squid sent by Australian scientists. "The specimen has obviously been damaged ... and the membranes have come away from the arms."
Giant squid live on the edge of continental shelves, about 1,600 feet below the ocean's surface.
O'Shea said the squid found in Tasmania was a pregnant female that had washed up on the beach after mating. It had probably dropped its fertilized eggs in the water nearby.
Tasmanian Museum zoologist David Pemberton said the dead squid would be used for display.
Found here (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020723/ap_on_sc/australia_giant_squid)
Tue Jul 23, 2:40 AM ET
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - A giant squid found washed up on an Australian beach was not a new species as first thought but a damaged specimen, a scientist said Tuesday.
The 550-pound creature was found dead Saturday on a beach in Hobart in Tasmania state. It had lost its two tentacles but would have been about 50 feet long.
Experts at the Tasmanian Museum were studying long, thin flaps of muscle attached to each of its eight arms — like keels — that they believed were unique to the squid.
But Steve O'Shea, a squid specialist with New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, said all giant squid had the keels, which were used to help it swim.
"It definitely isn't a new species," said O'Shea, who had studied photos of the squid sent by Australian scientists. "The specimen has obviously been damaged ... and the membranes have come away from the arms."
Giant squid live on the edge of continental shelves, about 1,600 feet below the ocean's surface.
O'Shea said the squid found in Tasmania was a pregnant female that had washed up on the beach after mating. It had probably dropped its fertilized eggs in the water nearby.
Tasmanian Museum zoologist David Pemberton said the dead squid would be used for display.
Found here (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020723/ap_on_sc/australia_giant_squid)