Unleashing the Kraken: New study shows giant squids could be bigger than the size of a school bus
- 8 years ago
FIFE, SCOTLAND — A new study shows the size of giant squids may be bigger than imagination, that they could reach the size of 20 meters in total length.
The study analysed the data of beak size and the mantle length to standard and total length of the squid, estimating that squid can grow as big as 20 meters in total length, which is even longer than a school bus.
The squid beaks are often found in the digestive system of sperm whales, which is the squids’ prime predator.
“I am extrapolating here, and extrapolation can sometimes be a bit sketchy. But I think these are fairly safe extrapolations. I genuinely think that giant-squid size has been underestimated,” Charles Paxton, the author of the study and a fisheries ecologist and statistician at the University of St Andrews in Scotland told Live Science.
According to Live Science, Paxton examined 164 measures of squid mantle length, 39 measures of standard length, 47 measures of total length as wellas 46 measures of beak or mouth size in relation to mantle length.
The study was published in the Journal of Zoology.
The study analysed the data of beak size and the mantle length to standard and total length of the squid, estimating that squid can grow as big as 20 meters in total length, which is even longer than a school bus.
The squid beaks are often found in the digestive system of sperm whales, which is the squids’ prime predator.
“I am extrapolating here, and extrapolation can sometimes be a bit sketchy. But I think these are fairly safe extrapolations. I genuinely think that giant-squid size has been underestimated,” Charles Paxton, the author of the study and a fisheries ecologist and statistician at the University of St Andrews in Scotland told Live Science.
According to Live Science, Paxton examined 164 measures of squid mantle length, 39 measures of standard length, 47 measures of total length as wellas 46 measures of beak or mouth size in relation to mantle length.
The study was published in the Journal of Zoology.