We all know that sea monsters are nothing more than legends, right? And yet, some of the creatures in the ocean depths sure look like sea monsters -- like something out of a nightmare -- or at least a bad movie.
A perfect example is the colossal squid -- the largest squid yet discovered. It lives in the cold waters of the Antarctic, at depths of perhaps a mile or more, so it’s rarely seen. In fact, it wasn’t identified until 1925, when two tentacles were found in the stomach of a dead whale.
Yet the few specimens that we haveseen are sure to give most people the shivers. And from those specimens, biologists suggest that the largest of the colossal squid might be even scarier: up to almost 50 feet long, and weighing more than half a ton.
The colossal squid’s eyes are as big as soccer balls -- the largest eyes of any animal on Earth. They’re set facing forward, like our eyes, giving the squid stereo vision. And the eyes double as headlights -- they emit a steady glow.
That allows them to see their prey in the darkness of the deep ocean. Once they spot something, they probably snatch it with their two long tentacles, which are lined with sharp hooks that rotate 360 degrees. They use the tentacles to drag the prey in close, where they grab it with their eight arms, which are lined with hooks and suckers. The squid then reels in the prey and uses its large, pointed beak to rip it apart.
So a colossal squid might not be a sea monster, but it sure sounds scary.
