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Jan 25 2013 - 11:21am
In 2012, the long-elusive giant squid was finally filmed live in its natural habitat. The squid was found by placing glowing lures outside of a submersible to mimic jellyfish, which typically indicate to the squid that food is nearby. Before this encounter, the giant squid had never been observed...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
The giant squid is among the largest invertebrates on Earth, but this deep sea creature has rarely been observed by humans -- alive. Over the centuries, many dead giant squid have washed up on the beach and been found by people, inspiring tales of sea monsters such as the Kraken. This...
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Mar 6 2013 - 8:27am
This 1874 photo of a squid draped over a bathtub was the first ever taken of a giant squid. It belonged to the Reverend Moses Harvey of Newfoundland. More about the giant squid can be found in the Giant Squid section.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Smaller than the head of a pin, this squid embryo looks almost like a miniature adult. It is from a medium-sized squid - the arrow squid (Doryteuthis plei). Explore more cephalopds and the largest known squid, the Giant Squid, on the Ocean Portal.
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Jan 6 2011 - 12:09pm
Success! A so-called "dumbo" octopod is chased and finally captured by a suction device on the ROV, skillfully operated by a pilot on the ship above.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
This photo shows just a small part of the cephalopod collection at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. Shown here is Dr. Clyde Roper, a zoologist and squid expert.
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Aug 2 2012 - 5:36pm
Octopuses can change the texture and color of their skin to blend in with their surroundings. This day octopus (Octopus cyanea) has shaped itself like seagrass or some coral so hide from predators or stalk prey.
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Oct 15 2012 - 9:30am
This close-up photo shows the tough, serrated ring around the opening of a giant squid sucker. The ring is made of chitin—the same material that’s in your fingernails. Using suction, the sucker tightly grips the squid’s prey. The ring digs into the skin of the giant squid’s only predator—the sperm...
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Sep 4 2012 - 10:00am
The larger of two giant squids on display in the Smithsonian's Sant Ocean Hall, this female was caught in a fisherman's net off the coast of Spain in 2005. It was probably 2-3 years old and, when alive, 11 meters (36 feet) long with tentacles that extended 6.7 meters (22 feet). It weighed more than...
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Aug 22 2012 - 9:45am
The largest of the cuttlefish species, Australian Giant Cuttlefish (Sepia apama) delight scientists each year as they gather in masses to spawn in northern Spencer Gulf, northwest of Adelaide in Australia.
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Aug 2 2012 - 5:57pm
An octopus shoots ink in defense as it swims away from a scuba diver.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
The Pharaoh Cuttlefish (Sepia pharaonis) lives in warm waters (30°C) in the western Indian Ocean. Cuttlefish are the most commonly caught cuttlefish species in the Persian Gulf, either for aquarium use or human consumption. This one was photographed in an aquarium at the visitor's center for the...
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Mar 26 2012 - 12:00am
A deep-sea octopus wraps itself around a submersible’s robotic arm 2,300 meters (7,546 feet) down in the Gulf of Mexico. "Most octopuses will let you get close, maybe even touch them, but normally they'll try to run once the manipulator gets close," said Bruce Strickrott, pilot of the submersible...
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Dec 19 2011 - 5:13pm
For nearly 35 years, National Geographic photojournalist Brian Skerry has been immersing himself in the big blue to get the perfect underwater photograph. He admits that there will never will be a "perfect" photo, but there are tricks to make a photo appealing. He sees himself as an artistic...
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Aug 3 2010 - 11:40am
This brilliant red octopus (Benthoctopus sp.) was photographed at more than 8,800 feet (about 2,700 meters) in Alaminos Canyon in the Gulf of Mexico. See more photos of wild creatures encountered during the Census of Marine Life.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
This male giant squid is on display in the Sant Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. It measures about 2.7 meters (9 feet) long and weighs a little more than 45.5 kilograms (100 pounds). Found off the coast of Spain, it is on loan to the Smithsonian from the...
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May 27 2010 - 12:44am
This beautiful larval (baby) octopus was collected by scientists from the University of Miami during a research cruise in the Straits of Florida, a narrow channel between the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. Explore more cephalopod content.
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Jul 13 2012 - 9:11am
The veined octopus (Amphioctopus marginatus), also known as the coconut octopus, has a skill beyond other cephalopods: it hides under animal and coconut shell, which it drags along the seafloor for protection. This is one of the few examples -- if not the only example -- of tool use in...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Giant squid have the largest eye in the animal kingdom. At up to 10 inches in diameter, people often describe it as the size of a dinner plate -- or, in other words, as big as a human head. Here, National Museum of Natural History staffer Katie Velazco goes eye-to-eye with a preserved example from...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
A giant squid left this tentacle behind after getting entangled on a hook below a Japanese research vessel, and eventually escaping. An underwater camera took footage of the event—the first time a giant squid was caught on film. More about the giant squid can be found in our Giant Squid featured...
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Sep 12 2012 - 10:45am
This scanning electron micrograph magnifies the tiny teeth that cover the surface of the giant squid’s tongue-like organ, or radula. Seven rows of sharp teeth help direct tiny pieces of food down the squid’s esophagus (only three are shown here). Because the esophagus passes through the brain...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Squids come in a wide range of sizes but despite differences in size and shape, all work basically the same way inside. More about the giant squid can be found in the Giant Squid section.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Hundreds of powerful suckers stud the flattened club at the end of the giant squid’s long feeding tentacle. They help the squid capture and hang on tightly to its prey. They also leave deep scars in the skin around the mouths of sperm whales as the squid fight to escape from the whale’s jaws. More...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Like octopods and cuttlefishes, giant squid have eight arms. But they use their two much longer feeding tentacles to seize prey. The tentacles have powerful suckers at the ends. More about the giant squid can be found in our Giant Squid featured story.
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