How does the colossal squid differ from the giant squid?
The colossal squid is even heavier than the giant squid and has rotating hooks on its tentacles.
The answer
The colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) is the heaviest known invertebrate, weighing up to an estimated 500 kilograms, compared to the giant squid's roughly 275 kilograms. While the giant squid has longer tentacles, the colossal squid has a larger mantle and is equipped with swiveling hooks in addition to suckers on its tentacles and arms. It inhabits the deep Southern Ocean around Antarctica, typically at depths of 1,000 to 2,000 meters. Only a handful of intact specimens have ever been recovered, and the largest, caught in 2007 by a New Zealand fishing vessel, is now displayed at Te Papa museum in Wellington.
Source: Te Papa Museum
- colossal squid
- cephalopods
- Antarctica
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