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by Joseph-Dowie

The Colossal Squid: Natures Largest Invertebrate

October 19, 2010 in Articles 2010-11

The Colossal Squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) has been known to science since 1925 from the remains found within a sperm whales digestive tract in the Falkland Islands. Since then there has been very few whole specimens found to be larger than juveniles. However no complete adult specimens where discovered until 2003. The specimen in 2003 was captured on a long lining fishing vessel unintentionally. This specimen was dissected at Auckland’s University of Technology with Dr Steve O’Shea leading the examination. This specimen had a mantle length of 2.5m and a total length of 5.4m and even with a large amount of damage it still weighed about 300kg. After this examination in 2003 Dr O’Shea stated that this species could grow to be as large as 500kg, but this statement came with some doubt in the scientific community until 2007. This was when a 495kg specimen was caught again on a long lining fishing vessel. This specimen was frozen for 14 months to give planning time for the examination with the help of preserving alcoholic solutions which caused an estimated 22% shrinkage (mainly in the tentacles and arms) in the specimen due to the large amount of dehydration. This may be why the measurements of this specimen where smaller than the 2003 specimen even though it weighs so much more. The mantle measurement was 2.5m and the total length was 4.2m. This is the largest invertebrate by mass ever discovered, however very little about the behaviours of this animal is known, we cannot even draw a diagram of the internal organs yet.

The Body

The main part of the squid’s body is the mantle that encases all of its organs. This mantle is made up of muscle and skin, the specimen’s mantle examined in 2008 was 2.5 metres long and had a diameter of 98.2cm.  The mantle has a reddish-pink colour due to the pigment containing cells found in the skin called chromatophores. It is believed that the colour of the mantle changes as the muscle contracts but the reasons for this are just speculative, one theory is that it could be used to confuse predators (the only predator that the colossal squid has is the sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus). Inside the top of the mantle is a rigid structure made up of chitin known as the ‘gladius’ which gives the mantle support.  The tail fin of the squid is made up purely of muscle. When compared to smaller squid species the colossal squid’s tail is relatively much larger. This is probably due to enable it to quickly swim forward in bursts to ambush its prey. There is a space between the organs and the mantle that allows water flow. This allows the oxygenated water to pass over the gills which allows

The Beak

Fig. 2 Close up of the colossal squid's beak surrounded by muscular tissue

The beak is to cut its prey into small chunks before it reaches its digestive tract. This is vital because its oesophagus passes through the centre of its donut shaped brain, so if food isn’t cut small enough brain damage could occur. The size of the beak can be used to estimate the size of the squid without any other data. The beak measurement used is the straight cutting section of the lower beak known as the lower rostral length (LDL). The 495kg specimen in 2008 had a LDL of 42.5mm. Whilst waiting for that specimen to thaw a much smaller 160kg specimen’s beak was measured at 40mm showing that small changes in a beak’s LDL constitutes in very large differences in squid size. This is put into perspective when the largest beak ever discovered had an LDL of 49mm (this was found inside a sperm whale) which means for all we know colossal squid could grow much larger than 500 kg.

The Arms and Tentacles


Fig. 3 Close up of rotating hooks on colossal squid's tentacles

Like the giant squid and other squid species the Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni has eight arms andtwo tentacles. However unlike other squid species the twotentacles have a very useful physiological trait. The club-end shaped tentacles have rotating hooks. These hooks can rotate over 360 degrees and is believed to better clamp on to prey (its main prey is the Antarctic tooth fish (Dissostichus mawsoni)) It is also believed that these can be used in defence to fight off sperm whales (which may explain why sperm whales have so many cut like scars) . The arms also have many serrated suckers and hooks which help grapple prey which is not an unusual characteristic in other squid species.

The Eye

The colossal squid has the largest known eye in the entire animal kingdom and possibly the largest ever. The eye can span 20 to 30cm across and its lens is as large as an orange. It also has photophores which are light producing organs behind the eyes to act as torches to allow them to see in the very deep parts of the ocean with zero visibility. The eyes are located at the front of the head which is linked with being a predatory characteristic. This is because it gives a binocular vision which enables it to judge distances more effectively and therefore hunt prey with more deadly accuracy.


Fig. 4 Showing relative size of colossal squid

The Mystery Continues…….

A lot is still not known about Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni likehow it reproduces and how a male adult differs in anatomy to the female as no large male specimens has been captured. It has never been filmed or photographed or seen in the wild so how it behaves is still very much sceptical. As well as the simplest questions like just how large can it grow? And how many are there? we still dont have answers.

References

http://www.tonmo.com/science/public/giantsquidfacts.php

http://squid.tepapa.govt.nz/

http://www.itsnature.org/sea/other/colossal-squid/

http://www.extremescience.com/zoom/index.php/life-in-the-deep-ocean/34-colossal-squid

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/news/2010/april/colossal-squid-joins-museum-tour64890.html

Picture References

Fig.1 http://www.tonmo.com/science/public/giantsquidfacts.php

Fig.2 http://squid.tepapa.govt.nz/images/gallery/anatomy/article-02/image-01.jpg

Fig.3 http://squid.tepapa.govt.nz/images/gallery/anatomy/article-03/tentacles/image-01.jpg

Fig.4 http://www.worsleyschool.net/science/files/thegiant/squid.html

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by Kyle-Bourke

Are penguins exploited by the film industry?

October 19, 2010 in Articles 2009-10

In the modern world, the usage of penguins by the film industry is a massive source of revenue. By using penguins the film industry knows that they will make a large profit as people will go to watch a movie that contains penguins. However, the film industry also shows the hardships that penguins go through every day in order to survive. This is both a blessing and a curse for them as it causes confusion about the species that are depicted in these films.

One of the moat common species of penguin shown in films is the Emperor Penguin, Aptenodytes forsteri. According to Antarctic Connection “The regal Emperor penguin is the largest of all the penguins. They are also one of the most biologically interesting.” This because an emperor penguin can grow up to 40 inches in height and weighs approx 88 pounds when mature. Emperor penguins are nomadic. They migrate inland every winter to give birth. This is extremely dangerous for them as an Antarctic Winter is the most violent weather known on earth. Temperatures often range from -40°C to -70°C. Blizzards are frequent which causes blinding conditions for the penguins. The emperor penguin is the most biologically interesting because it chooses the most dangerous time of the year to give birth. However it does this for an excellent reason. During winter there is less risk from predators who will feed on the young, for example, the Leopard Seal, Hydruga leptonyx. This allows the young to be raised independently. Also it is the male emperor penguin who minds the egg. All males huddle together to keep warm and incubate the eggs. The females return to the ocean to feed themselves. By this time a large percentage of their body weight will have gone. When the egg is released the males give whatever food they have to the new borns and then go off to get food for themselves.

The emperor penguin has been depicted in many movies including Happy Feet and March of the Penguins. Happy Feet is a CGI- computer generated imagery movie. It is about a penguin called Mumble who cannot sing but he does have amazing tap dancing ability. In Happy Feet, Mumble is shunned by everyone so he leaves the group and goes off into the wilderness on his own. March of the Penguins is a documentary about the yearly journey the emperor penguin makes inland to their ancestral breeding ground which can be between 50 and 120 km away. The documentary explores the hardships the penguins go to in order to survive.

Another film depicting penguins is Surfs Up. It is a mockumentary about a penguin who wants to become a famous and respected surfer just like his idol Zeke ‘Big Z’ Topanga. He gets this fantasy after ‘Big Z’ visits where he home Shiverpool, Antarctica.

In this film however a Rockhopper Penguin is shown. The Rockhopper Penguin is divided into three species: Western Rockhopper Penguin, Eudyptes chrysocome, Eastern Rockhopper Penguin, Eudyptes filholi and Northern Rockhopper Penguin, Eudyptes moseleyi. The Western Rockhopper Penguin breeds on the southern tip of South America. The Eastern Rockhopper Penguin breeds on the sub-antarctic islands of the Indian and western Pacific Oceans while the Northern Rockhopper penguin breeds on St. Paul’s Island and Amsterdam Island. The name rockhopper refers to the fact that the penguin while jump onto boulders or over cracks while other penguins would get around by sliding on their bellies or by using their flipper-like wings as climbing aids. The Rockhopper Penguin is also depicted in Happy Feet as the penguin Lovelace, a penguin that claims to have been captured by aliens but escaped.

In the movie franchise: Madagascar, penguins are also present. However in this movie they are shown as a paramilitary unit. The penguins in this franchise are used to for additional laughs when the main characters are not able to be funny at these points because their roles don’t allow for it.

The documentary March of the Penguins is the one movie featuring penguins that doesn’t aim to exploit them. In this documentary, the hardships penguins go through day after day to survive the winter shows their lifestyle undisturbed by humans. Although it exploits them for money in the end, that is not the role of this movie. The role of this movie is to show the compassion penguins have for their mate at this time and the sacrifices they endure to care for their young during the winter season.

Although it may seem like penguins are exploited by the film industry as surfers, dancers or soldiers those penguins are CGI. The only movie that shows real penguins is March of the Penguins. In this movie though the camera people do not interact with the penguins, they just film them as the penguins journey to and from the coast to their ancestral breeding ground inland which can sometimes be over 100 km away. However one can claim the use of CGI penguins is exploitation as with CGI the penguins can do stuff they shouldn’t be able to do e.g. drive a ship, tap dance or even talk. Therefore it is how one views the use of penguins by the film industry as exploitation or not.

References:

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