Last Sunday, fisherman 12 miles off the coast of Stuart, Flordia found themselves with a mollusk of a tale to tell some folks — they had hooked a specimen of Architeuthis Dux, or the Atlantic Giant Squid.
Explains TC Palm of this tentacled catch:
At about 11:30 a.m., [fisherman Joe] Asaro spotted a large mass in the water, and when the three anglers motored in to investigate they discovered a 23-foot-long, 200-pound giant squid floating dead but extremely well-preserved [...] The squid measured 11 feet from the top of its head to the bottom of its arms and 23 feet from its head to the end of its two feeding tentacles [...]
Sadly, the fishermen did not consume the squid to absorb its briny cephalopod wisdom — they passed it on to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and the University of Florida. Unlike other recent squid sightings, this one did not possess the power of flight.
[Spotted on Boing Boing]