List of Colossal Squid specimens
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This list of Colossal Squid specimens is a comprehensive listing of all recorded specimens of Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, popularly known as the Colossal Squid.
Contents |
[edit] List of Colossal Squid
Records are listed chronologically in descending order and numbered accordingly.
- Date - Date on which the specimen was first captured, found, or observed. In cases where this is unknown, the date the specimen was first reported is listed instead.
- Location - Area where the specimen was found. Given as it appears in the cited references, except where additional information is provided in brackets.
- Oceanic sector - The quadrant of a major ocean in which the specimen was found (see Oceanic sectors).
- Method of capture - Method by which the specimen was recovered or observed. Given as it appears in the cited references, although "washed ashore" encompasses all stranded animals.
- Identification - Species or genus level taxon to which the specimen was originally assigned. Given as it appears in the cited references. Listed chronologically if specimen was re-identified.
- Material cited - Original specimen material that was recovered or observed.
- Material saved - Material that was kept after examination and not discarded (if any).
- Sex - Sex and sexual maturity of the specimen.
- Size and measurements - Data relating to measurements and counts. Abbreviations used are based on standardised acronyms in teuthology (see Measurements), with the exception of several found in older references.
- Repository - Institution in which the specimen material is kept. The acronyms used are those defined by Leviton et al. (1985) and Leviton & Gibbs (1988) (see Repositories). Where the acronym is unknown, the full repository name is listed.
- Cited references - Sources that provide specific data on a particular specimen.
- Additional references - Sources which merely refer to the specimen.
- Notes - Miscellaneous information.
Note: Names of anatomical features are retained from original sources (e.g. jaws may be given instead of the preferred beak).
| # | Date | Location | Oceanic sector | Method of capture | Identification | Material cited | Material saved | Sex | Size and measurements | Repository | Cited references | Additional references | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1925 | From Sperm Whale stomach | Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni Robson, 1925 | Two arm (brachial) crowns | Robson (1925:272) | ||||||||
| 1956/1957 | South Orkney Islands (59°41'S, 44°14'W) | SWA | From Sperm Whale stomach | Architeuthis sp.; Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni Robson, 1925 | Head and mantle | Undetermined | HL: 30 cm; HW: 20 cm; ED: 16-17 cm; WL?: ~12 m | Korabelnikov (1959:103); Yukhov (1974:62) | Initial identification by I.I. Akimushkin. From 15.8 m long male Sperm Whale. | ||||
| 1956/1957 | South Shetland Islands (61°56'S, 52°39'W) | SWA | From Sperm Whale stomach | Architeuthis sp.; Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni Robson, 1925 | Fin only | Undetermined | FL: 41 cm; FW: 48 cm; WL?: ~10 m | Korabelnikov (1959:103); Yukhov (1974:62) | Initial identification by I.I. Akimushkin. From 15 m long male Sperm Whale. | ||||
| 1970 (reported) | Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni | Entire | Entire? | ML: 86 mm | McSweeny (1970) | Voss (1980:395, fig. 10b); Clarke (1986:199) | Juvenile specimen. Upper and lower beaks described and illustrated. | ||||||
| 1975 (reported) | Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni | "large specimen"; ML unknown | Klumov & Yukhov (1975) | Clarke (1986:199) | Upper and lower beaks described and illustrated. | ||||||||
| 1980 (reported) | Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni | Entire | Entire? | Female (subadult) | ML: 1250 mm | Voss (1980) | |||||||
| 1980 (reported) | Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni | Entire | Entire? | ML: 23 mm | Voss (1980:395, fig. 10c) | Advanced paralarva. | |||||||
| 1980 (reported) | Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni | Two partial specimens; brachial crowns | Entire | NMNH | Voss (1980) | ||||||||
| 1981 | off Droning Maud Land, Antarctic at depth of ~2500 ft | By trawl | Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni | Entire | "nearly 17 feet long" | Ellis (1998:147) | Caught by Soviet trawler Evrica. Photographed by Alexander Remeslo. | ||||||
| 1985 (reported) | at depth of 2000-2200 m | Trawled in opening-closing net (RMT8) | Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni | Entire? | ML: 1.05 m | Rodhouse & Clarke (1985) | |||||||
| Unknown (1986 at latest) | (47°51'S 40°01'W, WH 101 I/76) | Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni | Lower beak | Entire? | Female (juvenile) | LRL: 7.10 mm; ML: 225.0 mm | Clarke (1986:200, fig. A) | ||||||
| Unknown (1986 at latest) | S. Georgia | From Sperm Whale stomach | Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni | Lower beak | Entire? | LRL: 13.50 mm | Clarke (1986:200, fig. B) | ||||||
| Unknown (1986 at latest) | S. Georgia | From Sperm Whale stomach | Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni | Lower beak | Entire? | LRL: 20.40 mm | Clarke (1986:200, fig. C) | ||||||
| March, 2003 | Ross Sea | Found floating on surface | Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni | Entire; recovered in three pieces, later reassembled | Entire | Female (subadult) | ML: ~2.5 m; WL: ~6 m | Numerous media sources | |||||
| 25 June, 2005 | "South Georgia waters" at depth of 1625 m | Caught alive by long-lining fishing vessel; "caught on a number of hooks on a longline" set to target Patagonian Toothfish | Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni | Entire; alive | Head with tentacles and arms; mantle too heavy to bring aboard | WL(estimate): ~5 m; WT(estimate): 150-200 kg | South Georgia Newsletter June 2005 | Caught by longliner Isla Santa Clara. Five men, including the ship's scientific observer, attempted to bring the squid aboard. Paul McCarthy, the scientific observer, estimated the length and weight of the squid. Specimen was sent to King Edward Point (KEP) Scientists for formal identification. Two images taken by Ramon Ferreira Gomez. |
[edit] Abbreviations
[edit] Oceanic sectors
M. hamiltoni has a circumpolar Antarctic distribution.
- SWA, Southwest Atlantic Ocean
- SEA, Southeast Atlantic Ocean
- SWP, Southwest Pacific Ocean
- SEP, Southeast Pacific Ocean
- SIO, Southern Indian Ocean
[edit] Measurements
- ED, egg diameter
- FL, fin length
- FW, fin width
- HL, head length (most often base of arms to edge of mantle)
- HW, head width
- LRL, lower rostral length of beak
- ML, mantle length (used only where stated as such)
- WL, "whole" length (end of arms, often damaged, to posterior tip of tail; in contrast to EL, measured from end of tentacles to posterior tip of tail)
- WT, weight
[edit] Repositories
- NMNH, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, United States
[edit] Cited references
The following references are cited in the List of Colossal Squid table.
- Anonymous 2005. Very Rare Giant Squid Caught Alive. South Georgia Newsletter June 2005.
- Clarke, M.R. 1986. A Handbook for the Identification of Cephalopod Beaks. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 273 pages.
- Ellis, R. 1998. The Search for the Giant Squid. The Lyons Press, 322 pages.
- (Russian) Klumov, S.K. & V.L. Yukhov 1975. Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni Robson, 1925 (Cephalopoda, Oegopsida). Antarktika Doklady Komission vol. 14, pp. 159-189. [English translation: TT 81-59176, Al Ahram Center for Scientific Translations.]
- (Russian) Korabelnikov, L.V. 1959. The diet of sperm whales in the Antarctic seas. Priroda, 3:103-104, 5 figures.
- McSweeny, E.S. 1970. Description of the juvenile form of the Antarctic squid Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni Robson. Malacologia 10:323-332.
- Robson, G.C. 1925. On Mesonychoteuthis, a new genus of oegopsid, Cephalopoda. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 9, 16:272-277.
- Rodhouse, P.G. & M.R. Clarke 1985. Growth and distribution of young Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni Robson (Mollusca: Cephalopoda): an Antarctic squid. Vie Milieu 35(3/4):223—230.
- (Russian) Yukhov, V.L. 1974. The discovery of giant squids. Priroda, Moscow, 1974(6):60-63, 3 figures.
- Voss, N.A. 1980. A generic revision of the Cranchiidae (Cephalopoda; Oegopsida). Bull. Mar. Sci., 30:365-412.
