Giant Squid Washed Ashore in Australia

twofish writes "Yahoo News is reporting that the carcass of a giant squid, nearly 8 meters in length, washed ashore in Australia on Wednesday. The creature's mantle is over two meters in length and almost a full meter across. The creature, stretched out, is in total more than eight meters long. 'Scientists would take samples from the creature, identified by state parks officials as an Architeuthis, which can grow to more than 10 meters (33 feet) in length and weigh more than 275 kilograms (606 pounds). The Tasmanian animal was 250 kg ... Giant squid, once believed to be mythical despite occasional sightings by mariners, feed on fish and other squid. Last year, fishermen off the Falkland Islands caught a complete animal measuring 8.62 meters.'"

Comments

Stick

[Eudial]

Poke it with a stick! Poke it with a stick! I dare you to poke it with a stick!

Re:Stick

[bojan tesanovic]

We are explring the universe, while we don't see much then few inches from our nose. Who knows what lies when we open our eyes a bit wider

Re:Stick

[Anonymous Coward]

Who knows what lies when we open our eyes a bit wider

For you I'm guessing it will another shot of tequila.

I love squid

[Anonymous Coward]

Of course, I have a lot of cache.

Re:I love squid

[Anonymous Coward]

Do you know what else is 8 meters long? My squid. Ie, my penis. I'm offering free rides for the ladies out there.

Re:I love squid

[Anonymous Coward]

"Do you know what else is 8 meters long?"

Your prolapsed rectum? I warned you Congressional pages to stay away from Republican politicians.

Re:I love squid

[Anonymous Coward]

"Do you know what else is 8 meters long?"

Your prolapsed rectum?

I think that you meant 8 meters wide. (NSFW!)

Re:I love squid

[Anonymous Coward]

That's a LOT of calimari....

Fast food

[scum-e-bag]

Giant calamari rings anyone?

Re:Fast food

[countSudoku()]

I'll bring a giant lemon wedge and a giant bowl of dipping sauce!

Giant margaritas all 'round!

Re:Fast food

[Tackhead]

> Giant calamari rings anyone?

"It's a TRAP!"

Re:Fast food

[American Scum]

Last I read, once they get that big they have a high concentration of Ammonia. You'd need a helluva lot of margheritas to wash THAT taste down.

Re:Fast food

[xs650]

That would be OK if you wanted calamari rings the size of tractor tires....with the chewability of tractor tire.

Re:Fast food

[compro01]

That would be OK if you wanted calamari rings the size of tractor tires....with the chewability of tractor tire.

and if you like it in Windex flavor. those things contain a lot of ammonia.

Re:Fast food

[phedre]

Not a problem! All we have to do is cut it into smaller pieces, throw in the lemon juice and the dipping sauce, and toss into the Blendtec blender! I'm sure it will blend, and thus we can have lemon calamari ammonia smoothies... mmmmmm good.

Re:Fast food

[timeOday]

Tell me the appeal of calamari? I like sushi, I like crab legs, I like shrimp because they all taste good. Calamari only tastes like whatever you fry or dip it in.

Re:Fast food

[jafiwam]

You haven't had good calamari then.

You are right, most is pretty bad. But if you get it at a real seafood place or a fish market (cook yourself) it is very nice.

Re:Fast food

[semiotec]

while the calamari jokes are inevitable, I thought I'd point out anyway that apparently giant squids don't taste all that nice due to the high amount of ammonia they have to help buoyancy, and the only creatures that find them tasty (as well as being big enough to eat them) are sperm whales.

There's several more reports and better pictures than the one posted in the summary.

Re:Fast food

[Jeff DeMaagd]

If it's that hard to get it "right", then it doesn't seem to be very worthwhile, does it?

The definition of a "real" seafood place is pretty nebulous as it is, I've been to a few nice places, chain and non-chain, and quite frankly, I don't care to ever try another one again. Maybe calamari lovers would be better off just admitting that maybe a lot of people are just never going to like it, even if it's done right, it's a heck of a lot easier on everyone.

This probably applies to anything that's subjective, don't assume that the person that doesn't like it didn't experience the proper circumstances, or that they don't understand it or that they aren't enlightened enough. Just live and let live.

Re:Fast food

[drsquare]

You don't eat it by itself you fry it in batter and dip it in sauce. Very few foods are meant to be eaten alone.

Re:Fast food

[niktemadur]

I used to dislike calamari, but then a chef friend prepared some in his special recipe (ginger, orange, garlic, chili powder, beet, and a few other secret ingredients), and then I realized I'd never had proper calamari before, as this was sensational. I used to dislike beet, too, but in this dish I really enjoyed it, so this guy demolished two barriers of mine in one spectacular stroke. Since then, I've had blind faith in whatever he cooks up.

Then a year later, I tried some fried calamari, spanish style, and once again I was amazed.

Octopus grilled in butter and garlic, with fresh mexican sauce and flour tortillas is really damn good, too.

And yes, you're right about it having to be fresh, as if isn't, it's like chewing on a piece of bleached rubber.
So definitely, rule number one: never buy frozen squid or octopus.

But....

[cstdenis]

Will it blend?

this is why the sea freaks me out

[timmarhy]

it's like an alien environment on our own planet. sure am glad these things are 500m down.

Re:this is why the sea freaks me out

[suv4x4]

it's like an alien environment on our own planet. sure am glad these things are 500m down.

Wow, talk about antropocentric logic loops.

Re:this is why the sea freaks me out

[wikinerd]

it's like an alien environment on our own planet. sure am glad these things are 500m down.

Not as alien as you think. We all evolved from down there, you know. It looks alien because we separated a long time ago. Kinda like UK and US, with many customs and cultural elements being different only because they took different paths some time ago, but they both have the same roots. So, if you learn to look more closely, you'll see that there are many similarities and analogies between land and sea (or UK and US), and you probably can recognise them better if you know some natural history or paleontology.

Re:this is why the sea freaks me out

[shawn443]

Don't be a Sally. I wish I was an underwater Indiana Jones. There must be a sunken civilization or two and some giant squid to fight.

Re:this is why the sea freaks me out

[timmarhy]

yes and we all formed from basic elements released in the big bang, it doesn't mean other planets aren't alien to me.

the differences between me and a squid are far greater then the USA vs UK

Re:this is why the sea freaks me out

[WhatHappenedToTanith]

the differences between me and a squid are far greater then the USA vs UK

I dunno, I have seen some tentacle images/cartoons from Japan that would argue against that point quite thoroughly.

Re:this is why the sea freaks me out

[timmarhy]

you sir, WIN

Re:this is why the sea freaks me out

[sqrt(2)]

You should spend less time on /d/

Re:this is why the sea freaks me out

[Totally_Tux]

I just got back from a SCUBA dive this morning at our local reef (Port Noarlunga, South Australia). I got into diving because the underwater world IS so alien. It's 72% of our planet surface normally unseen first hand by most people.

The flora and fauna have adapted to this environment and you get to watch them on their terms, not in an aquarium/zoo. Because we humans are considered aliens in this environment, many of the animals haven't learnt to fear us. Some underwater animals seem to show a large degree of curiosity to humans underwater. Maybe an opportunity to get fed... or perhaps they are wondering "what the HECK is that animal?".

Re:this is why the sea freaks me out

[Oktober Sunset]

I dunno, those Americans do some pretty weird stuff. Just look at corn dogs, like what the fuck? Crazy Yanks.

Re:this is why the sea freaks me out

[qzulla]

Some underwater animals seem to show a large degree of curiosity to humans underwater. Maybe an opportunity to get fed... or perhaps they are wondering "what the HECK is that animal?".

And allow me to add:

I bet it tastes like chicken.

qz

Re:this is why the sea freaks me out

[petrus4]

Giant squid need love too. ;)

It's Reuters, not Yahoo News

[Pap22]

It's only written on the page 3 times. Give credit where it is due.

Nice

[Anonymous Coward]

a metric squid.

Obligatory Responses

[Anonymous Coward]

I for one welcome our Giant Squid Overlords.

Does it Blend?

How about a beowulf cluster of those.

My squid

[Penguinshit]

is 3128 cm long.

Re:My squid

[Anonymous Coward]

It was located on Port 3128 by the nmap authorities.

What the...?

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh, right, it's the weekend. Time for Zonk, kdawson and ScuttleMonkey to spam Slashdot with "stories" from their precious Australia.

Wave that flag high boys, wave it high!

Re:What the...?

[Dunbal]

"stories" that were on CNN 3 days ago

Use less repition it says

[CrazyJim1]

Squid squid squid squid squid squid squid squid. Irresponsible motorcycle riding cephalopods fish other Irresponsible motorcycle riding cephalopods who are also fishing.

Translation for Linux fanbois

[tttonyyy]

A proxy with a memory leak has segfaulted at Australia's ioctl interface.

Debuggers are taking core samples for analysis.

Re:Translation for Linux fanbois

[Gazzonyx]

A proxy with a memory leak has segfaulted at Australia's ioctl interface.

Debuggers are taking core samples for analysis.
This kind of crap always happens when Australia's pipes are involved! The debuggers can do what they will in their own sweet time, man, just tell me it was HA and we failed over to a mirror and redirected the DNS entries on the balancer! If not, we'll blame this on GPLv3 or IPv6 or some kind of technology with an 'x' in it... product names with an 'x' always sound cutting edge and therefore dangerous!

Re:Translation for Linux fanbois

[JonathanR]

...or some kind of technology with an 'x' in it. sex?

Re:Translation for Linux fanbois

[Gazzonyx]

...or some kind of technology with an 'x' in it. sex? I've heard of it... It's kind of like SOAP, right?

Re:Translation for Linux fanbois

[Anonymous Coward]

Kinda...success with sex is heavily dependent on the use of SOAP.

Please...

[akkarin]

Please, don't even try to imagine a beowulf cluster of these!

Re:Please...

[MichaelSmith]

Please, don't even try to imagine a beowulf cluster of these!

Why? Is there something different about you?

Re:Please...

[akkarin]

You say 'different' as if its an insult. Why? -- Another pointless comment brought to you by me.

Only 8?, that's nothing!, mine measures 32 gb!

[GNUALMAFUERTE]

You are talking about squids cache size, right?

Inbreeding?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm surprised it didn't have two heads, being that it was from Tasmania!

Re:Inbreeding?

[Darkaxe]

Funny how only Australian's get that joke.... but which head were you thinking with at the time?

Re:Inbreeding?

[Antarius]

Isn't that rather obvious?

I mean, the ones with the two other heads managed to swim across the straight and created the colony of "Victoria."

Delicacy to Cleaning agent

[American Scum]

http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN_PLANET/HTML/squ id_highlights.html "When a giant squid washes ashore, Roper hurries to the site. He takes many photographs and measures the length and width of the squid's body the length of the tentacles and arms, and the width of the eyes. He will add the information to his collection of clues. One clue was discovered at a party when Roper and two other scientists cooked a piece of giant squid. They expected a giant delicacy But it was awful. The taste reminded them of ammonia, a strong-smelling substance. They tested the tissue and found a lot of ammonia. They think that ammonia makes the giant squid less dense than seawater, so it won't sink. It can easily stay at a good level for finding food without constantly swimming and wasting its energy "

Re:Delicacy to Cleaning agent

[chawly]

"It can easily stay at a good level for finding food without constantly swimming and wasting its energy"

We want to keep a thing like that kind of relaxed, eh? Don't want it to get tired or hungry - it might get to be bad tempered.

Re:Delicacy to Cleaning agent

[Anonymous Coward]

Or maybe it tasted horrible because the squid had been dead for a few days before they cooked it. /palmface

Re:Delicacy to Cleaning agent

[kbahey]

Actually, many bottom dwelling fish have ammonia in them.

This includes the stingrays, which are known for their bad taste, unless soaked in vinegar to neutralize the ammonia.

Ammonia does not make them float. What I heard is that it helps coping with the pressure at great depths or something like that.

Re:Delicacy to Cleaning agent

[American Scum]

Is it just the larger stingrays that have a high ammonia content? Th word from those who know, 20 years ago AND today, is that stingray meat is still sold as a substitute for scallops (and I thought I heard other types of fish, or fish products?). (For those who don't know - other fish 'trades' happen in restaurants as well; here, a spearo will sell a sushi restaurant a Yellow Jack, and that evening it will be advertised as Yellowtail Snapper. It's a given.)

Re:Delicacy to Cleaning agent

[kbahey]

I have eaten Mediterranean stingrays a long time ago. Do not recall the exact species, but it is the most common one there, brown in color. Those in the know soaked it in vinegar for a while to get over the ammonia. Tasted OK.

In Denmark, I have eaten stingrays in a high end restaurant. It is called devil fish or something like that. Can't remember if it was grilled or fried, but it was crisp and very nice to eat. Not sure if the chef did something special, or is it the species.

I once speared a blue spotted stingray in the Red Sea, but a friend ended up with it, so I don't know how it tasted.

This is what Wikipedia says about Stingray as food.

On the other hand, skate, a closely related cartilaginous fish, from the same waters is not given the vinegar treatment at all. Neither in the Mediterranean, nor in North America.

Perhaps not all stingrays have ammonia, or not in all seas?

Re:Delicacy to Cleaning agent

[American Scum]

I'm willing to bet the "stingrays" I've heard of being used as scallops were, actually, skates.

Re:This article is NOT NEWS

[gujo-odori]

Heck, it was on *CNN* two days ago. They set a new /. record for lameness on this one :p

8 Meters?

[Paul Slocum]

I don't understand how they're getting the 8 meters. You can see a guy's shoe in the picture for comparison, and the whole thing looks like it's about 2 meters long. It is big, but I was picturing something more sci-fi style from the description.

Re:8 Meters?

[palinurus]

the article actually says that it's only 2 meters long. there must have been an editorial error converting metric to metric for the posting.

Re:8 Meters?

[Paul Slocum]

It does say it. Probably just be an error in the article or the quotation.

"It's a whopper," Tasmanian Museum senior curator Genefor Walker-Smith told local media on Wednesday. "The main mantle is about one meter across and its total length is about eight meters."

Re:8 Meters?

[iluvcapra]

The mantle, which is to say the body is two meters long. The other 6 is tentacles.

Re:8 Meters?

[slapmyass]

obviously it was a guy measuring

Re:8 Meters?

[djupedal]

Total length includes the tentacles, at least one of which is larger and much, much longer than the rest, terminating in a paddle:

== - - - - - - -(:==}

Re:8 Meters?

[MichaelSmith]

I don't understand how they're getting the 8 meters. You can see a guy's shoe in the picture for comparison

This is old news so I have to think back, but I recall than the tentacles appear to be chopped off, probably because the squid has been partly eaten. Perhaps the longer length is the estimated length when it was alive.

Re:8 Meters?

[boring, tired]

The guy has very large feet

Re:8 Meters?

[Spadgos]

The body was 2m long, but... "The tentacles had been badly damaged, so the overall length of the animal could not be determined."

Re:8 Meters?

[jinxidoru]

According to the article, the squid is 2 meters long. The 8.62 meter figure was clearly taken from the line in the article that reads: "Last year, fishermen off the Falkland Islands caught a complete animal measuring 8.62 meters."

Re:This is a reply to your post.

[toleraen]

I am drinking Warsteiner now with my right hand and mouth I gotta say, I'm a little frightened that you made sure to specify you were consuming Warsteiner through your mouth.

Finding Giant squids more common now?

[spineboy]

I remember only a few years ago, no one had even seen one of these monsters, and now they are washing up on a monthly basis. Is it possible that something has changed in their environment, so as to make them leave it, or kill them?

Re:Finding Giant squids more common now?

[TapeCutter]

"no one had even seen one of these monsters"

No one had seen a live one, dead ones wash up on the shore quite reqularly in Tassie and NZ although I belive this was the first one found on Tasmania's west coast.

Re:Finding Giant squids more common now?

[Deadstick]

If nobody had ever seen one a few years ago, how did they get mentioned in Moby Dick?.

rj

Re:Finding Giant squids more common now?

[Anonymous Coward]

This is largely a wild guess, but my theory would be that this is happening as a result of environmental change. I don't think we know for sure.

What we do know is that ice on both polar caps is melting at a tremendously accelerated rate at the moment. All arctic and antarctic ice is fresh water - made from fallen snow. So when this melts into the ocean two things happen. Firstly, the salinity of the sea is reduced - it becomes less salty. Secondly the density of the sea is reduced, since salt water is more dense - and offers more buoyancy - than fresh water.

These two things might have some kind of impact upon giant squid, or their food, or those creatures (largely sperm whales I think) for whom the squid themselves are food.

But you have asked a very important question here, and it would be well worth our while to determine the actual answer to it.

Re:Finding Giant squids more common now?

[Anonymous Coward]

Obviously, Cthulhu must be involved somehow.

Re:8 Meters? Depends how you measure.

[grendelbear]

Turns out there is more than one way to measuer a squid :P

Mantle length (as opposed to total length) is the standard measure in cephalopods. Architeuthis is not known to attain a mantle length in excess of 2.25 m. Standard Length (SL) is the length of a squid excluding the tentacles; in Architeuthis this measure very rarely exceeds 5 m. From: http://www.tonmo.com/science/public/giantsquidfact s.php

what about the colossal squid?

[SolusSD]

didn't someone catch a colossal squid in a net accidently about 6 months ago?

Re:what about the colossal squid?

[ultracool]

That's right, it happened in the waters of New Zealand.

Re:what about the colossal squid?

[dances with elks]

yes, this is squid pro quo

Re:what about the colossal squid?

[humpy101]

In Soviet Russia, squid catches YOU!!!

slashdot is teh gay

[Anonymous Coward]

amen brotha

Necronomicon

[sam_paris]

Where did I leave my copy of the Necronomicon. Just when it would have come in useful!

So many lately

[LinuxInDallas]

I'm I the only one who thinks it's strange that all of a sudden there is a relatively large number of giant squid washing up on beaches? We've gone from barely hearing about them to every few months seeing a dead one appear on a beach.

Re:So many lately

[sam_paris]

And I for one welcome our many tentacled, bulging eyed, briny-breathed overlords from the deep!

Re:So many lately

[Choad Namath]

From Wikipedia:

Many scientists who have studied squid mass strandings believe that they are cyclical and predictable, but the length of time between strandings is not yet known. A period of 90 years between mass strandings has been proposed by Frederick Aldrich, an Architeuthis specialist, who used this value to correctly predict a relatively small stranding that occurred between 1964 and 1966. By and large, however, squid strandings remain a yet unsolved problem. It is strange, but it doesn't seem to be a new phenomenon.

Re:So many lately

[Rogerborg]

Mmm huh, I think I get what you mean. Notice how this all kicked off when Marsha Stewart got out of prison in 2005 on the very same day that scientists at Florida State University concluded that Homo floresiensis is a separate species from Homo sapiens? See? See the connection? No, don't say it out loud; the Girl Scouts are monitoring my communications.

Re:So many lately

[gabriel.dain]

Couldn't that be the result of a more aware media?

Re:So many lately

[Nazlfrag]

90 years ago... 1917. That concludes it. I now have all the proof I need of a Grand Tentacle conspiracy.

Just think of all those war movies and docos, why did they have all that barbed wire and defensive guns on the beaches? Why did the British navy suddenly collapse to these 'submarines'? All those narrow trenches, wide enough for men but too narrow for an 8-metre squid? Why did we need giant tanks to replace cavalry (hint - look at a giant squid next to a horse).

The great question remains, why was this covered up? Is it, in fact because Chthulu won that war, and all humanity is now just slaves in his vast tentacled reign of horror? You be the judge.

Re:So many lately

[Anonymous Coward]

They are failed attempts to evolve to land creatures. And like NASA, there is a lot of time spent planning between attempts. Hehehe, Darwinism is funny! :)

Re:So many lately

[bill_mcgonigle]

We've gone from barely hearing about them to every few months seeing a dead one appear on a beach.

We're also using what was just recently cutting-edge military technology, including satellite tech, to hunt wildlife these days.

I doubt the fishermen who caught one off the Falklands were using worms on hooks.

They are coming!

[Tatisimo]

Run for your life, the ancient ones have arrived!

A close up

[warrior_s]

You can have a closer look at it here

Ammonia makes you float?

[davevr]

Finally I have the excuse I need to pee in my wetsuit! Thank god for science!

Screw that...

[crovira]

Besides that, two foot wide calimari rings probably end up tasting like erasers.

Re:Screw that...

[Anonymous Coward]

Giant squid have a lot of ammonia in their bodies to help with buoyancy. They'd taste horrible.

Re:Screw that...

[StikyPad]

Scientists believe giant squid usually live at ocean depths of between 200-700 meters (660-2,300 ft), relying in part on volleyball-sized eyes, the largest in the animal kingdom.

Finally, an appropriate use for the phrase "Those things are the size of volleyballs!"

Re:Screw that...

[will_die]

Not erasers ammonia.
Any of the large squid are filled with ammonia, scientist thinks it is there to help them float.

:-) and that's not the biggest one either

[Anonymous Coward]

And thats not the biggest one either!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossal_Squid

The Colossal squid is the largest giant squid species.

Does any one remember the giant octopus that washed up I think some where in UK in the 1920's I think (not sure of the exact time but the photos where in black and white).

From the shots it probably was the largest ever cephalod ever seen by man and I remember seeing the photo of the mantle was bigger than a van even those if was probably heavily decayed.

After a quick search I found this

http://www.akpcep.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=4 485

So that could of been the remains of one, the mantle being 12m wide.

If it was a colossal octopus then it would of been 25-30m with fully grown tentacles.

Was also found with the carcus of a whale near by it.

Wouldn't of been much in the ocean that it couldn't of eaten. :-) /signed Kiwiguy

One of the fastest growing creatures around

[Anonymous Coward]

Squid have really short lifespans and they grow from tiny little hatchings into these giant creatures in just a few weeks. Pretty amazing eating machines.

Found a shot of the giant octopus

[Anonymous Coward]

Finally found a shot of the octopus I mentioned

http://theshadowlands.net/octo1.jpg

Looking at that it would of been one hell of a big cephlapod, much bigger than a giant squid /signed kiwiguy

Re:Found a shot of the giant octopus

[Neeth]

I believe this to be fake. The tentacles look painted. Maybe inspired by Captain Nemo spotting a giant squid?

This is a climate change thing.

[Fantastic Lad]

These creatures normally thrive unseen by humans at great depths. With the ocean currents and the resultng temperature levels changing, I imagine we'll continue seeing mixed up wildlife.

-FL

Re:This is a climate change thing.

[Tweekster]

Normally? this could have been a fluke
if it happens repeatidly i may agree, but since it a rare occurance that has been happening for hundreds of years i doubt it is anything new from climate

Re:This is a climate change thing.

[Fantastic Lad]

if it happens repeatidly i may agree, but since it a rare occurance that has been happening for hundreds of years i doubt it is anything new from climate

It's at least the second or third time in twelve months.

-FL

Re:This is a climate change thing.

[Tweekster]

And?

Re:This is a climate change thing.

[Fantastic Lad]

And?

Oh. I thought when you said rare, you meant a couple of times every hundred years.

I just did some searching, and found that there were two in the last six months.
Here and here. One off the coast of Australia, and another around New Zealand.

Is two enough for a pattern? No, but it is noteworthy. According to this item it seems that squid in general, (off California's coast) are behaving oddly. They think it may be due to the reduction of natural predators, but who knows?

-FL

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

let this be a warning...

[tompee]

to google:
This is what happened to the last company CEO that got in the way of ACCC

Note attached to squid's body...

[edsyc]

"So long, and thanks for all the fish."

In Related News..

[Anonymous Coward]

The Squid reportedly stung a small girl with its stingers before washing ashore.
The child was reported to have been shouting "give my daddy back" before being incapacitated by the squid.

Re:In Related News..

[duguk]

Won't someone think of the children? Lets blow it up like we did the whale.

Hentai, anyone?

[Anonymous Coward]

Luckily, it didn't wash ashore on the beaches of Japan.

Obligatory

[Arancaytar]

phn'glui mglwnafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn! Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn!

Re:Obligatory

[laejoh]

With apologies to cfortin:

IE! IE! Microsoft fthagn!

Re:Obligatory

[Anonymous Coward]

So... are you suggesting that all the current activities of Microsoft are just abstruse emanations from their preternatural slumber? How is this different from the inevitably approaching age when the stars are right and Microsoft awakens to hurl us all into ceaseless mayhem and madness?

Re:Obligatory

[laejoh]

Fuck! Let me first get a dictionary!

thank you for the data

[superlaughtive]

On the beach at -30.68 latitude 114.26 longitude, upon viewing the more than 8 meter (26 ft) long squid, a 4 year 85 day 522 minute old child looked up to see a colorful butterfly with almost a 13-cm (5-in) wingspan traveling at an average 2.32 cm/s (0.91 in/s) at an incline exceeding 23. At just after 11:20 AM, the child asked his nearly 30 year old mother how many sea creatures grew to almost 8 meters (26 ft) in length and 250 kg (550 lb) when stretched out on a beach with their drying carcass receiving as much as 1142 Watts per square meter of peak solar radiation with the sun just shy of 1/20 radians from normal, to which she replied, I'm sure there are more than 230 such species -- I've seen mammals measuring more than 25 meters (82 ft) in length and fish nearly 12 meters (39 ft) long -- which are washing up at at rate exceeding 34 creatures per day (more than 12000 per year).

Tentacles

[Rai]

The tentacles had been badly damaged, so the overall length of the animal could not be determined...

So hentai girls can now breathe a little easier.

Just got to love the Ads

[sa1lnr]

http://home.clara.net/lesmcdm/images/squid.png

Re:Just got to love the Ads

[MichaelSmith]

Better hurry up and use those mod points

Re:Just got to love the Ads

[truthsolo]

(email not shown publicly)

Re:Just got to love the Ads

[pipingguy]

I've got one of those, they're pretty useful. Many of my "powerbars" have blocked outlets.

Cue the squid related handles karma whoring...

[Loligo]

Despite the relative obscurity of mine, I'll start.

You're welcome.

  -l

/yes, it's vulgar rather than giant, so kiss my ass

Tasmanian Squid

[darrenadelaide]

Thats ok. the squids from Tasmania...

Two headed from imbreeding down that neck of the woods.. a giant squid is nothing new.

Darren
South Australia

But...

[CodyRazor]

Will it blend? yes! i got a meme post! now to wait for the easy mod 5 funny....

Re:But...

[wboelen]

Will it blend? yes! i got a meme post! now to wait for the easy mod 5 funny....

You just fucked that up for yourself :P

And yes I *do* get it.

Re:So many lately - yup, dupe

[Bearhouse]

Indeed. There was a story on this here before, complete with ammonia explanations etc.

Cue 'global warming' nutjobs in 5...4...3...

"I knew I shoulda toined left at Albakoike!"

[IceAgeComing]

... My favorite Bugs Bunny quote.

1-18-08

[notoriousE]

watch out, they're coming! 1-18-08

Just not prepared right.

[pavon]

But it was awful. The taste reminded them of ammonia, a strong-smelling substance. They tested the tissue and found a lot of ammonia. That never stopped the icelanders from eating Rotten Shark.

Garbled link

[pavon]

Dammit, the non-ascii characters in that link got garbled. Here is the correct link.

Re:This is a reply to your post.

[Nullav]

Forget that. How the hell is he drinking with his hand?

Re:So many lately - yup, dupe

[petrus4]

If you disagree with the global warming explanation, can you offer us an alternative?

Re:This is a reply to your post.

[pipingguy]

I accidentally saw part of Jackass2 on cable last night. Maybe the original Warsteiner poster did too and wanted to clarify.

Islas Malvinas to you!

[grc]

The giant squid was caught off the Malvinas Islands! Get your facts right...

New Zealand != Australia

[GrahamCox]

The creature was actually washed up in New Zealand, and was then moved to a facility in Tasmania for dissection. For those who are geographically challenged, New Zealand is a separate country some distance from Australia.

Giant squid + Slashdot = ???

[MilesAttacca]

Unless it's been radioactively mutated, risen from the dead, and is now terrorizing Sydney, I really don't get why a giant squid report belongs on Slashdot. Now, if it *is* a giant radioactive mutated zombie squid rampage in Sydney, the Slashdotting public has a right to know! :o

BREAKING NEWS ON SLASHDOT . . .

[Anonymous Coward]

. . .there are three sheep grazing in the field across the road from my house!!

(I mean what's /. coming to with articles like this one being posted?)

Obligatory Star Wars

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a trap!!!

C'mon, where are the tagging folks today?

Re:This article is NOT NEWS

[gujo-odori]

I'm a troll because I pointed out the *fact* that it was on CNN two days prior? OK fine. By the time important (or at least interesting) stories on technology or science make it CNN they are typically already not really even news anymore. A science story gets to /. two days after it gets to CNN. Could someone please explain to me how that is not lame?

Oh, wait, This is Slashdot. A troll is anything that a moderator personally disagrees with, regardless of its truth value, or that criticizes /. or anyone or anything that moderator likes.

Also, you, the moderator, are an asshat for having no clue about the difference between a troll and flamebait. Saying they were lame for getting a story two days after CNN may be skirting the edges of flamebait, but it's definitely not a troll. Calling you a stupid asshat isn't a troll, either; it's flamebait. Please mod accordingly.

Thank you for your time.