The Giant and Colossal Squid

Companion Page to Episode One

Things we discovered about the

Giant and Colassal Squid!

Sea monsters have been a part of our history since we discovered the sea. Passed down in legends and fairy tales, we have long been afraid of the creatures of the deep. But we now have names for these sea monsters, and much of this "legend" was possibly based on facts. For years we thought the largest squid on earth was the Giant Squid. In 1848 the HMS Daedalus discovered a squid so large they thought it might be a dinosaur. This squid was 60 feet long, and after realizing it was a squid, scientists had to give this squid a new name, and thus the Colossal Squid was born.

There are many similarities between the Giant Squid and the Colossal squid. Both have 8 arms, 2 tentacles, and hard beaks. But the body of the Colossal squid is much wider and fatter than the Giant Squid. The Giant Squid and the Colossal Squid both have the largest eyes in the animal kingdom, the size of a human head! There are suckers along the tentacles, and they are both carnivores.

The smallest squid species can be as small as 1 inch long. The average size of a Giant Squid is 25 feet, while the Colossal Squid can be up to 45 feet long on average. Scientists have also found body parts from colossal squids inside whales, and so while they are predators, they are also prey.

There are some theories as to why the Colossal Squid is so large. One of these is Klieber's rule, which states that creatures who live in colder regions must grow their bodies larger in order to stay warm. We had a great time learning together and we hope you enjoy our first podcast!

We did some research to create our first episode. Our inspiration came from the book Magic Treehouse, Fact Tracker: Sea Monsters. We also watched a few videos including "Why Squids Become Terrifying the Deeper the Ocean Gets," by Brew, and "Discovering a Rare Giant Squid | Colossal Squid," by the Discovery Channel.