A monster squid, approximately 3.35 meters long, has been found alive on a shore in western Japan. Authorities in Japan were left dumbfounded after finding the super-rare, giant squid stranded on a beach in Obama on Wednesday morning.
Giant squids live in the deep ocean, and it’s uncommon for one to be washed ashore still alive. A video of the supersized monster has accumulated north of 200,000 views on Twitter and continues to rise. It is more than three meters (10 feet) in length and weighs around 80 kilograms (176 pounds).
However, though this may be unusual, the specimen was a small fry by the standards of goliath squid. The giant squid is the world’s largest invertebrate. They are capable of growing upwards to 43 feet long, and the greatest monster squid at any point was found to be 18 meters in length (59 feet long) and weighed nearly one ton or close to 2000 pounds!
Unlike humans, an invertebrate is an animal without any bone skeleton on the inside. Other invertebrates include worms, silverfish, jellyfish and much, much more. In truth, more than 95% of all the creatures on Earth are invertebrates. With this, it’s no surprise that of all the animals on Earth, monster squids and colossal squids have the largest eyes. Their eyes can be the size of volleyballs, and this helps them find their way around the deep, dark ocean where most creatures couldn’t see anything at all.
“It is unusual for a giant squid to be washed ashore alive,” an authority told the Japanese newspaper Mainichi.
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This isn’t the first time a monster squid has been found ashore in recent years. Back in 2020, astonished beachcombers happened to come across a completely intact specimen washed up on a beach in South Africa. A mysterious inhabitant of the deep, a live monster squid hadn’t been caught on film until 2006, when researchers recorded a female attacking a lure under an examination vessel off the Ogasawara Islands.
Monster squids have eight arms and two long tentacles. The tentacles are used to bring fish and other food to its mouth. They can even eat other smaller squids. As the monster squid lives in the very deep waters of the most threatening parts of the ocean, it is very challenging for researchers to study them. The majority of what we know about them is from monster squids that have washed up on coasts from around the world. The first pictures of a live goliath squid were taken not too long ago, back in 2004.
The cephalopod has now been moved to the Echizen Matsushima Aquarium in Sakai. The report added and showed a video where authorities are taking measurements of the animal.
VIDEO: Giant squid washes ashore alive in Japan.
A giant squid 3.35 metres in length has been found alive on a shore in western Japan.
Giant squid live in the deep sea, and is unusual for one to be washed ashore alive. The squid has now been transported to an aquarium pic.twitter.com/FGdc23MBjI— AFP News Agency (@AFP) April 22, 2022
The goliath squids that live deep underwater remain largely elusive. They are the biggest cephalopods known to date and can grow up to 13 meters long (or 42 feet long). They can even regenerate their tentacles to some degree. They’ve got three hearts, one large heart for pumping blood throughout its body, and two smaller hearts for pumping blood through its gills. Despite this, their life expectancy is quite short, and they are only able to live up to around five to six years, according to specialists.