While filming whales off of the Canary Islands recently, a documentary crew discovered a rare marine find — the body of an Architheuthis squid bobbing in open water. Sadly, the creature was extremely dead, but the documentarians were able to capture footage of this deceased beast.
Explains FIS:
According to Ángel Gerrea, professor of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) and one of the leading specialists in cephalopods in the world, “it is possibly an adult female, which could be about 8 metres long with intact tentacles.”
[Filmmaker Rafa Herrero] added that “a female Architheuthis can measure two and a half metres in the mantle, which would be about 18 to 20 metres in total length. The eyes are the largest in the animal kingdom, like a handball.” […]
The water depth in the area of Los Gigantes, where the odd specimen appeared, varies between 800 and 1,200 metres. These depths allow tropical pilot whales to go down continuously in search of food, as there are many marine species, especially cephalopods.
[Video via Antena3]
