[Animals] This is the giant squid that inspired the legend of the kraken

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At more than 557 meters deep, a team managed to capture a shocking video of the giant squid that inspired the legend of the dreaded Kraken.
In Norse mythology, the Kraken (giant squid) is a sea monster that hides in the depths of the ocean and from time to time rises to the surface to sink ships with its powerful tentacles.

This creature remained in the collective imagination of sailors for centuries, nourished by a rich oral tradition of sightings and shipwrecks, enlivened during the fiercest nights on the high seas.

The giant squid and the legend of the kraken
Although the notion that giant squid exist beyond the twilight zone of the ocean has accompanied humanity for centuries.

However, what we really know about Architeuthis dux, the species that shaped the myth of the Kraken, is limited to descriptions of sightings on the high seas, as well as engravings and chronicles from the 16th century, which refer to encounters with sailors and even combat. with sperm whales

How big is the giant squid?
Despite the fact that it is the largest invertebrate in the world (marine biologists estimate that an adult specimen can reach up to 14 meters in length), the giant squid is one of the most elusive marine species to capture.

Hence, the evidence of this species in its natural habitat is scarce and most studies come from dead specimens that have appeared on the coast.

The only two video records that existed to date of a giant squid were captured in 2012 and 2019 by the Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA), an organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of aquatic ecosystems and their species.

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However, a new study led by Dr. Edith Widder reveals what the last filmed encounter with an A. dux was like, as well as the technique that has led ORCA to capture this marine giant on video three times:

Squid sighting
In addition to the difficulty involved in submerging a device beyond the twilight zone of the ocean, the giant squid has highly developed senses: adapted to live beyond 500 meters deep, its eyes are the largest in the animal kingdom.

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With 30 centimeters in diameter, these organs are designed to capture the greatest amount of light, a scarce element in the mesopelagic zone, a region where photosynthesis does not occur.

This characteristic makes it even more difficult to see when exploration vehicles are used, whose vibrations and light emission are easily captured by the elusive specimens of giant squid, which flee in the presence of photographic devices.

 However, research published in Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers reveals a video captured in the Caribbean Sea, between 557 and 950 meters deep, in which a juvenile giant squid appears approaching a fluorescent bait placed by the team in front of the camera:

How do the exploration vehicles work?
This device emits blue flashes that mimic the bioluminescence of jellyfish, one of their favorite prey.

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In addition, the ORCA team changed the camera's white light to red light, which has a wavelength that is less bothersome to squid and other deep-sea species better adapted to blue light and bioluminescence.

These factors led to capturing not only the specimen of A. dux, but also other squid such as Pholidoteuthis adami, which lives in the same deep zone.

The authors of the study hope that this pioneering technology will help to better understand the behavior, distribution and threats facing the giant squid, whose halo of mysticism and folklore is increasingly opening the way to scientific observations of the species.

https://www.ngenespanol.com/animales/captan-a-un-calamar-gigante-en-el-caribe-la-especie-que-inspiro-la-leyenda-del-kraken/