6th Entry: Giant Squid

Hi. Have you ever heard about giant squid that possibly bigger than a building? Did you believe it existed in this world? The giant squid is a deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae. Giant squid can grow to a tremendous size. Recent estimates put the maximum size at 13 m (43 ft) for females and 10 m (33 ft) for males from the posterior fins to the tip. The mantle is about 2 m (6.6 ft) long and the length of the squid excluding its tentacles is about 5 m (16 ft). Claims of specimens measuring 20 m (66 ft) or more have not been scientifically documented.

First encounter of a giant sea creature has washed ashore in California. First it was a rare oarfish that had grown to a freakish 100-foot length. This time it was a giant squid measuring a whopping 160 feet from head to tentacle tip.

Giant Squid found at California

These giants look different but experts believe they share one important commonality: they both come from the waters near the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant in the Futaba District of Japan. Scientists believe that following the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant an unknown number of sea creatures suffered genetic mutations that triggered uncontrolled growth.

Second encounter of a giant squid was caught in a fishing net in Japan, off of Sadogashmia Island in Niigata Prefecture.The squid was discovered after Shigernori Goto, a fisherman, pulled up a fishing net that was set at a depth 229 feet.The squid died when it was hauled to the surface.It measured 19 feet in length and weighed just over 330 pounds.

Giant squid found in Japan