8 March 6,2006 GIGANTIC

ILLUSTRATION: TIM GOLDMAN: LANDMAN: PHOTO BY DENIS FINNIN. COPYRIGHT AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. L Scientists useclues torevealthesecretivelifeofgiantsquid Scientists of histimeanalyzing Natural History(AMNH)inNewYork. ogist alive,” saysNeilLandman,a no onehadeverseenthecreature deep inthePacificOcean.“Untilthen, film. Nowtheyhave,”hesays. if anyoneweretocaptureoneon our understandingofthegiantsquid that itwouldbeaquantumleapin extinct seacreatures.“Iusedtosay that knowledgetohisstudiesoflong- mal’s mysteryandhopefullyapply His goal:tounravelsomeoftheani- Landman studiesthegiantsquidtoo. of ancientmarineorganisms, feet). Thecolossalcreature haslong females canmeasure 18 meters(60 its nicknametojumbo size— dux Although thescientistspendsmost The giantsquid,or (ar-keh-TOOTH-us duks), owes at theAmericanMuseumof Mystery giant squidswimming photos oftheelusive scientists hadsnapped ning speed:Japanese around theglobeatlight- ast fall,wordspread fossils Architeuthis , ortraces paleontol- One B cance oftherecentgiant squidphotos. creature andcomments onthesignifi- speaks with about and elusiveasthegiantsquid.” you’re lookingatanimalsasremote says. “Thattrainingisusefulwhen how acertainanimaloncelived,”he stantly piecingtogetherthepuzzleof comes in.“AsIstudyfossils,I’mcon- Landman’s paleontologybackground from adeadspecimen.That’s where gather asurprisingnumberofclues 15 years,”hesays. havebeenhauledupinthelast too.“Asmanyas300giant tently scoopuptheremainsofagiant their nets,sometimestheyinadver- in searchofdeep-seafishretrieve men,” saysLandman.Whenfishermen been hauledupaccidentallybyfisher- of ourbestpreservedspecimenshave or howthiselusiveanimallives.“All because noonereallyknowswhere unsolved mysteriesofscience.That’s been consideredoneofthegreat Y So whathavescientists deduced With thepropertraining,youcan P Architeuthis dux ATRICIA Science World ? Landman about the J ANES of focus isonfossils—mainlythefossils forms—including thegiantsquid. mollusk, Ihavetolookatmodern structure andbehaviorofanancient But ifIamtounderstandthebody giant squid? interested instudyingthe Why areyou,apaleontologist, mollusks Being apaleontologist,mychief ( see Nuts&Bolts,p.11 LIFE MOLLUSKS Science World Neil Landman,a at theAmerican SQUID SLEUTH: Natural History. paleontologist Museum of ). 9 10 squids havethe know thatgiant very intelligent. backbone); theyare ( withouta ticated ofthe arethemostsophis- Scientists alsoknowthat lar suckers,tocapturefood. , whicharelinedwithcircu- tentacles. Theyusethesemuscular surrounded byeightarmsandtwo cephalopods isthattheirmouthsare about giantsquidsandmanyother fuh-luh-podz). Theamazingthing mollusks called squid fallswithinthegroupof However, wedoknowthatthegiant more unknownsthanknowns. giant squid? think theyknow—aboutthe What doscientistsknow—or between livingandextinctorganisms. Earth. Thereisnorealdividingline also apartofthediversitylifeon That’s becauseolderlifeformsare cal-filled tank. inside achemi- squid specimen agiant serve scientists pre- SCENES: BEHIND THE Additionally, we Unfortunately, therearemany March 6,2006 AMNH cephalopods (SEH- ALIVE! of alivegiantsquid. The firstphoto their ownlight. or chemicallyproduce mals that large eyestospotani- trates, theymayusetheir ocean wherelightpene- well belowtheareaof giant squidisbelievedtolive ries: Forinstance,althoughthe big eyes?Therearesometheo- So whywouldthesquidneedsuch (2,950 feet).Thereisn’t anylightthere. very deepwaters—roughly900meters photographed washuntingpreyin giant squidthattheJapanesescientists we don’t knowtheanswerto.The Why suchbigeyes? they canbeasbigasoccerball. biggest eyesofanyknownanimal; That’s oneofthemanyquestions phosphoresce Why didittake scientists solong to spotagiant squid alive? was figuringout at whatdepths , One challenge tists studythegiantsquid. Then, participateinalive Natural History scientist. Natural History online interview withan online interview experience howscien- American Museumof www.scholastic interactive siteto .com/squid Scholastic’s EXTRA WEB Visit depths tosearch? used whendecidingwhat What clueshavescientists they wouldfindonealive. their mainhabitat,itwasunlikelythat but ifscientistsweren’t searchingin sands ofgiantsquidsintheoceans, to search.Thereareprobablythou- it formed.Itdoesthis by lockingin the surroundingconditions atthetime statolith containsasort ofrecord mal maintainitssense ofbalance.A to aninnerearboneand helpstheani- toh-lith). Thistinystructureissimilar There wasalwaysthisnotionto look around1,000m(3,280ft). Researchers cameupwiththat see giantsquidsinshallow depth becausepeoplenever studying its waters. Plus,spermwhales squid’s habitatdepthby live atthatdepth—and we couldinferthegiant sperm whalespreyupon and Iwantedtoseeif giant squids. But mycolleagues statolith (STAH-

BOTTOM LEFT: NATIONAL SCIENCE MUSEUM/HO/AP WIDE WORLD; ALL OTHER PHOTOS: PORTIA ROLLINGS.COPYRIGHT AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY (3) the lab. for studyin specimen giant squid prepare a at AMNH Scientists GET SET: luminescent fishandtheuniverse. thing fromfossilizedinsectstobio- ditions eachyear, studyingevery- around theworldon100 fieldexpe- Museum’s 200scientiststravel extensive researchcollection.The more than30millionobjectsinits for morethan135 yearsandhas and celebratingthenaturalworld The Museumhasbeenresearching foot-long modelofabluewhale. Life. Thehallisalsohometoa94- MilsteinHallofOcean History’s American MuseumofNatural one ofthe14 dioramasinthe and aspermwhale,isdepictedin two titansofthedeep,agiantsquid The life-or-deathstrugglebetween To learnmore,askyourteacher, Check or visitwww.amnh.org. it Out: Out: it depth ofabout300m(984ft). that giantsquidsliveatanaverage warmed bysunshine.Sowededuced colder thanshallowerwaterthat’s data. Forinstance,deepwateris ture informationwithocean-depth over thelifetimeofanimal. water waswhenthestatolithformed what thetemperatureofocean these isotopes,wewereabletotell particles). Bystudyingtheratioof ber of charged particles,butadifferentnum- giant squidmaymigrate upanddown that overthecourseof itslife,the over theanimal’s lifetime.Thatmeans it. Also,myestimates were averaged bait becausetheanimals willcometo always abitofbiaswhenyouputout baited linetoattractthesquid.There’s large whales.Then,theylowereda squids, thescientistsfollowedthese deeper waters.Whyisthat? photographed wasinmuch But thesquidthatwasrecently same numberof types ofoxygenatomsthathavethe oxygen isotopes catching suckers. about 300prey- giant squidhas ofa Each armand WATCH OUT: Then wecomparedthetempera- Since spermwhalesfeedongiant neutrons & Bolts Nuts , orelectricallyneutral (the threedifferent protons , orpositively This structurehelpstosupporttheanimal. structure locatedwithinitssoftouterbody. shell. Butasquid’sshellislong,thin Most mollusksareprotectedbyahardouter as clams),and gastropods body. Thethreemajorgroupsofmollusksare a backbone,thathavesoft,unsegmented Mollusks are been placedinanartificialsituation. lured bybait,becausetheanimalhas to judgeananimalthathasbeen active predator. Thatsaid,itistricky direction ofitbeingavoracious, time, thebalanceistippingin mass oftentacles.Soforthefirst squid envelopingthebaitinaball-like its prey. Therecentphotosshow the monster thathuntsdownanddevours arms extended,orifitisapredatory squid justwaitsforamealwithits capture agiantsquidon video. world? Thenextstep will betryingto it thefastestgrowing inthe its lifecycle;howlong doesitlive;is about theanimal’s behavior: Whatis appetite, raisingmorequestions the giantsquid? outofstudying of themystery Do thelatestphotostakeany captured itonfilm? before theJapanesescientists tion aboutthegiantsquid What wasyourbiggestques- areas atvariouslifestages. in thewatercolumn,livingdifferent I’ve alwayswonderedifthegiant Not atall.Itactuallywhetsthe (such assnails), invertebrates cephalopods , oranimalswithout Science World (such assquids). bivalves (such 9 11