Giant Sea Creature Baffles Chilean Scientists

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The discussion revolves around the identification of a large, decomposing mass initially thought to be a beached whale, later determined by experts to be an invertebrate. Speculations include the possibility of it being a plant, a sponge, or a jellyfish. Participants express a desire to explore the ocean for giant squids, specifically the Architeuthis species, and discuss historical accounts from WWII of giant squids allegedly pulling men from boats. One contributor suggests that these stories may stem from the squids' curiosity towards men in distress, while others dismiss the likelihood of such encounters, noting that giant squids typically inhabit depths of over 1,600 feet. The conversation also briefly touches on the Colossal Squid and mentions the potential for the mass to be related to plankton.
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"The dead creature was mistaken for a beached whale when first reported about a week ago, but experts who went to see it said the 40-foot-long mass of decomposing lumpy gray flesh apparently was an invertebrate"

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&ncid=753&e=1&u=/nm/20030701/sc_nm/chile_science_dc
 
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Originally posted by Ivan Seeking
"The dead creature was mistaken for a beached whale when first reported about a week ago, but experts who went to see it said the 40-foot-long mass of decomposing lumpy gray flesh apparently was an invertebrate"

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&ncid=753&e=1&u=/nm/20030701/sc_nm/chile_science_dc

Based on the little information, it very-well might be a plant; many plants grow to be the size of an entire forest. Or, more likely a perifera (sponge). Or As the article said a Cnidaria (Jelly-Fish).

It's damn to bad it's not a giant squid - You know I am a trained biologist, but I would only want to work with certain types of animals, and not in an ecological way...

...but dammed if I don't want to head an expedition (one of many) to catch a living giant squid, also known as the architeuthis!
 
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Originally posted by Shark
...but dammed if I don't want to head an expedition (one of many) to catch a living giant squid, also known as the architeuthis!

Just make sure he doesn't catch you!

What do you make of stories, mainly from WWII, of giant squid pulling men out of boats? The accounts that I have heard were allegedly from survivors of warships sunk far from land.
 


Originally posted by Ivan Seeking
Just make sure he doesn't catch you!

What do you make of stories, mainly from WWII, of giant squid pulling men out of boats? The accounts that I have heard were allegedly from survivors of warships sunk far from land.


Well. Squid are attracted to light. And ships to sink, and sink slowly. My guess would be that when the ships were slowly sinking, and the men were fully in the water, the giant squid may have found some interest in the men, being probably the smallest and least threatening objects in this whole event.

So they probably grabbed them to investigate. Beyond that it's totally myth.

And certainly extremely rare; giant squids live at a depth of 1,600 feet and more.
 
The MSN report said that it could be a gathering a certain type of plankton.
 

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