How long squid live

Squids belong to the group of mollusks called cephalopods, which include octopi, cuttlefish, etc. Under this order, there are many subcategories of squid.

For example, squid that secrete luminescent ink are classified in the genus Heteroteuthis of the family Sepiolidae. The common squid of the east North Atlantic coast belongs to the family Loliginidae. The giant squid belongs to the genus Architeuthis in the family Architeuthidae.

The group of marine biologists who study cephalopods are called Teuthologists. Squids Fig. The largest nervous system in the animal kingdom also belongs to the giant squid. Squids are soft-bodied, and generally have 2 muscular tentacles and 8 powerful arms. Those of the giant squids reach a length of 10 meters for the tentacles, and 3 meters for the arms. The tentacles are what are used to catch prey. The lower surface of these arms is covered with two rows of suckers.

The tentacles of squid and octopi do have a difference. Squids have extra armature-hooks on the sucker rings. This allows for them to grasp hold of their prey. The colossal squid uses powerful muscles to move the beak up and down.

A bit like a parrot, the beak has an upper part and lower part, but in squid the lower part overlaps the upper one. See The beak of the colossal squid for more information. The colossal squid was captured when by the fishing vessel San Aspiring , while the vessel was fishing for Patagonian toothfish in the Ross Sea. When longlines were being drawn up, a colossal squid attacked a toothfish attached to one of the lines at metres below the surface.

As the longlines were drawn up, the squid hung onto the toothfish and was brought to the surface. Entangled in fishing lines, and attacked by toothfish, the colossal squid was dying when it got to the surface and was unable to be released back into the water. The value of the animal to science was recognised, so it was carefully brought it aboard. Skip to content. Colossal Squid: Your questions answered.

By: Te Papa. On: 22 Sep Aaron Boyd Evans counts colossal squid suckers. Sex Reproduction Skin appearance and colour Examination tank and water Eye Hooks, suckers and beak Capture Size The most recent colossal squid specimen is approximately kg. Back to top Habitat Colossal squid are found in deep, cold waters of the Southern Ocean. They have a low metabolism and they eat low-calorie foods — mostly "marine snow," or clumps of particles, that sink down the water column.

The study isn't the first to reveal evidence that cephalopods in the deep sea may live much longer than coastal species. Last year, scientists observed a deep-sea octopus off the coast of California that guarded her eggs for a record 53 months , which is far longer than most octopuses live. The new findings were published today April 20 in the journal Current Biology.

Follow Megan Gannon on Twitter. Giant squid eat other, smaller squid species and hunt fish, including blue grenadier Macruronus novaezelandiae , a torpedo-shaped deep-sea fish, according to the University of Michigan's Animal Diversity Web. Giant squid are themselves prey for sperm whales. But the cephalopods don't go down without a fight, and sperm whales are often found with sucker-shaped scars after hunting giant squid, according to the American Museum of Natural History. Related: Beached sperm whale in Australia shows scars from tussle with a giant squid.

The Kraken from Scandinavian mythology, likely inspired by giant squid sightings, was said to appear as small islands on the water to fool sailors into thinking it was land. As the story goes, the giant sea creature would then use its tentacles to pull ships and their crews beneath the waves.

But humans are not part of the real giant squid's diet, and there's no reason for giant squid to attack ships. Giant squids are categorized as a species of least concern by the IUCN, which means they are not threatened with extinction.

They have a wide geographic range and are less likely to be negatively impacted by human activity than many other species, as they live in the deep ocean. However, scientists don't know for sure how big the giant squid population is or what threats it could be facing.

Patrick is a staff writer for Live Science.