Doris Wu

The Daily

You're out on the water, taking a nice, casual swim when suddenly, you're grabbed by large tentacles fitted with suctions lined with razor-sharp chitin pulling you deeper into the ocean. You're pulled towards a sharp beak and you never knew what hit you.

You may have heard stories about them, as in the book 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, or seen them on the news every now and then, but the giant squid is definitely not a boat-snatching sea monster.

Luckily, chances are slim that a squid attack would lead to your demise. This is because they usually live at great depths of around 300 to 1,000 meters — although the exact depth is not known, said Ron Eng, the geology collections manager of the Burke Museum, at the UW.

The Burke is now hosting In Search of Giant Squid, the Smithsonian traveling exhibit. The exhibit helps dispel some of the myths surrounding the giant squid by providing some specimens and a lot of information to help educate the public about these so-called sea monsters.

In the early 1800s, a giant squid was reportedly seen to have attacked a French ship, bringing it down with her. In 1874, the crew of The Pearl was destroyed and taken down into the depths of the Indian Ocean, also by a giant squid.

The giant squid belongs to the Cephalopoda class, which also includes octopuses, nautiluses and the cuttlefish. It is also known as the Architeuthis. This word comes from the Latin words Archi and teuthis, which literally means "chief squids."

"The information is interesting ... and it's free," said junior Colleen Haller, a major in Public Health. "[We came] because of the name: The giant squid. ... [It] sounds cool."

The Burke exhibit on the giant squid features several specimens, including the beak and suctions from a giant squid, as well as examples of what they eat and a gladius, which is a feather-shaped blade that's similar to a backbone in vertebrates and eggs of other types of squids.

"We did all the activities in the room," said junior Cody Nunn, who was convinced to come with Haller.

The exhibit also features a short film on "squid-chasers" and a "Squid-O-Meter," which you can stand next to in order to compare your height in proportion to the squid's length.

"This exhibit tells you something about the way scientists do their work. Here's what we know about the squid, and here's how science works in doing their observations," Eng said. "[They're] literally mysteries of the deep."

The giant squid's first live sighting was in September 2004 by Japanese scientists Tsunemi Kubodera and Kyoichi Mori. They were able to take live photographs of a 26-foot long giant squid near Japan's Ogasawara Islands. Being the elusive creatures that they are, the Japanese scientists followed the sperm whales, the giant squid's only natural predator, to their choice in feeding grounds.

Undigested beaks found in sperm whale stomachs, as well as tentacle and suction cup scars around sperm whales mouths, gave scientists a small look into the lives of the giant squid.

"[It's] difficult to assess the population" Eng said, "Because they live at such great depths."

But judging by the amount of beaks found in sperm whale stomachs, it appears they're not endangered.

As a supposed favorite for sperm whales, giant squid probably wouldn't taste as good to us as it does to them.

In 1974, Dr. Chung-Cheng and other scientists, including giant squid enthusiast Clyde Roper, had a small taste of what ended up being awfully bitter.

This led to the discovery that the giant squid's tissues have ammonium chloride instead of the salt solutions found in many other squids. The solution gives the squid more buoyancy and allows them to better control their depths. This also causes them float to the surface when they die, which is why we only really see dead or dying giant squids.

Several other species of squids also have this unique trait, although none of them, except the colossal squid, can boast its size.

Female giant squids can grow up to 42 feet, with males growing up to 26 feet. This is amazing, since they only live up to five years at most. There have even been claims that squids as large as 60 feet have been found, though there is no evidence of this claim.

"When squids die, you are able to stretch out their tentacles, making them longer than they really are," Eng said.

As to why they grow so big and at such a quick pace, the video shown at the Burke, featuring Roper, states that giant squids needs to grow larger to avoid predators and to become better hunters themselves.

"[The] rate of growth must be astronomic. [It] captures your imagination," Eng said, "You have this boneless animal that's 40 feet long."

An interesting anatomical feature of the squid is how food passes through its body. Using super fast reflexes, the squid pulls its food toward its razor sharp beak where it's broken down into tiny pieces. To swallow it, the food passes down the esophagus, which goes directly through its brain.

The giant squid also has axons, neurons that conduct the electrical impulses that allow them to catch prey, that are visible to the naked eye. This allows them to react almost instantly when they feel threatened or when they are on the prowl.

Giant squids have the largest eyes on earth, being roughly the size of a human head. They also have the largest brains of an invertebrate.

Alan Guru, a scuba diver who's interested in squids, likens the giant squid to a lion.

"They're such powerful animals. ... If you ran into it, you won't have a chance," Guru said. "I'm impressed by how strong they must be ... and how little I want to meet one."

[Reach reporter Doris Wu at features@thedaily.washington.edu.]