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Jan 26 2010 - 11:46am
People once thought giant squid (right) were Sea Monks, or mermen (left)—mythical creatures that were part fish-like and part human male. Learn more giant squid facts and legend in the Giant Squid section.
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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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Nov 20 2009 - 3:35pm
Giant squid live up to their name: the largest giant squid ever recorded by scientists was almost 43 feet (13 meters) long, and may have weighed nearly a ton. You’d think such a huge animal would be hard to miss. But because the ocean is vast and giant squid live deep underwater, they remain...
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Dec 7 2009 - 11:09pm
This red octopod (Stauroteuthis syrtensis) shines in a novel way. Suckers stretching in a single row down each arm flash on and off. The glowing-sucker octopod drifts through deep waters off the eastern United States—down to 2,500 meters (8,200 feet)—and grows up to 50 cm (18 inches) long.
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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
In 1954 Smithsonian researchers dissected this squid specimen from the stomach of a lancetfish and added it to the Museum’s squid collection. Almost 50 years later, it helped scientists identify a strange, mysterious squid spotted in the deep ocean and describe a new family of squid—the...
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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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Nov 5 2012 - 10:41am
Like other cephalopods, the common cuttlefish (Sepia officials) is no dummy. But while octopuses are quick to learn manual tasks like opening jars, cuttlefish have a different skillset: the social.
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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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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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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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Aug 24 2010 - 9:54am
Dr. Clyde Roper, squid expert, explains how he developed a passionate interest in the giant squid (Architeuthis dux) in this excerpt of "Eyeball to Eyeball," an episode of Errol Morris' First Person television series. Roper, fueled by his early beginnings as a lobster fisherman...
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Jan 22 2013 - 6:59am
I have been at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History since 1966, studying and reporting on all kinds of octopuses and squids. But I’ve always had a particular fascination with the mysterious and elusive giant squid. My interest in giant squid began in graduate school when my...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:46am
A mass of white muscle the size of a softball surrounds the dark brown beak of a giant squid. Learn more about this animal's oversized anatomy in our Giant Squid section.
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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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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Like it or not, giant squids are related to snails, clams, and even slugs. They are all mollusks and have soft, fleshy bodies. More can be found in the Giant Squid section.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Smithsonian Zoologist Dr. Clyde Roper, the world's foremost authority on giant squid, explores the squid collection at the National Museum of Natural History. He is passionate about giant squid and has traveled the world studying dead specimens on beaches and in museums and searching for living...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
A specimen from the Smithsonian’s squid collection and videos of a mystery squid helped scientists identify a new family of deep sea squid—the Magnapinnidae, known as the bigfin squids. More about deep ocean exploration can be found in our Deep Ocean Exploration featured story.
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Dec 4 2009 - 1:28pm
Humans have long been captivated by what we now call the giant squid (Architeuthis). This image gallery gives a glimpe into our fascination with the animal. For a long time, people saw mysterious movements in the water or found dead giant squid and didn't know what they were—and even confused a...
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Oct 11 2012 - 1:34pm
A humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) -- also known as the jumbo squid -- releases a cloud of ink at night in Mexico's Sea of Cortez. These large, carnivorous squids can reach more than 5 feet in length and travel in shoals of 1,000 squids.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
This nearly complete giant squid washed up on a beach in Norway around 1950. Almost everything we know about giant squid comes from the scientific study of dead specimens like this one.
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May 11 2011 - 4:10pm
This short video takes you two hundred miles off the coast of Oregon and some 6,600 feet below the water's surface to observe the Dumbo octopus (Grimpoteuthis bathynectes). Little is known about this deep-sea creature, but if this footage doesn't inspire a whole cadre of budding teuthologists, we...
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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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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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