The longest mantle length (no legs and tentacles) was 7.4 feet or 2.25 meters. The largest giant fish found to this day was as long as 43 feet or 13 meters. This would indicate that giant squids can be found virtually all across the world’s oceans. However, we do know where we’ve found most giant squid carcasses throughout history – across the western and eastern coasts of the Atlantic, near southern Africa, all around New Zealand, and many other islands of Oceania, as well as other locations all across the globe. The natural habitat of the giant squid is not fully known as we haven’t yet mapped nearly enough of the ocean floor to know what lives where. Of course, the actual “engine” behind the swift movement of the giant squid is its internal propeller system – essentially, the squid passes and propels water through the inside of its own body like a turbine and can therefore move equally fast both forward and backward through the water. These can look unimpressive compared to the rest of this giant animal but they are more than enough to help it move swiftly across the deep water. On top of its large body and “head”, the giant squid has a mantle as well as two sets of fins.With this two-for-one organ, the squid further breaks down its victim into small and digestible pieces to send to its stomach. Once the ten appendages of the squid have got its prey to its sharp beak, the next stop is the radula – a tongue-like apparatus that has teeth along its length.Armed with powerful sanction cups and claws, these feeding tentacles latch on to the often-unsuspecting prey, and start pulling it toward the eight shorter legs of the squid that are also armed with sticky suckers.They are also not just for show, however, as they are the first line of the offense of the giant squid. Often called “feeding tentacles” these two appendages basically account for half the length of the giant squid as they are as long as the rest of its body. Like octopuses, giant squids have eight arms but they also have two extra long tentacles to more easily grab their prey with.The larger size is just that invaluable of an asset deep beneath the waves. This tendancy for deep sea creatures to grow extra large is explained by numerous factors such as their need to easily travel large distances, the need to have enough body mass to withstand the stronger water pressure, as well as having enough mass to survive prolonged periods of starvation.We will go over the numbers below but the unusual size of these animals is likely due to the so-called “abyssal gigantism” or “deep sea gigantism” – the tendancy for deep sea creatures to go way overboard in the size category with another case in point being the Japanese spider crab. The size of the giant squid is both stunning and not all that surprising at the same time given their habitat.They use that beak to finish off their prey once they have caught it in their tentacles and legs, as well as to break it down into little chunks that are easier to consume. Giant squids have a bird-like beak, similar to other squids and octopuses.This impressive size isn’t just for show as these eyes are necessary for the deep ocean predators to see as well as possible in the lightless depths beneath the waves. Giant squids have two yes, like most other squids and octopuses but they do have the largest eyes in the animal kingdom, sitting at the impressive ~10 inches diameter (~25 cm) or even more in the largest species.This means that the giant squids have the following body parts: On the face of it, giant squids have an appearance that’s pretty similar to that of other squids – just bigger.
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