A colossal squid, just the second intact example of the species ever recovered from deep under the ocean, is being dissected in New Zealand, scientist report.
At around 15 feet long, colossal squid are shorter than their legendary relatives the giant squid, but at around 1,200 pounds they are considerable heavier than their somewhat spindly larger cousins.
Researchers at New Zealand's national museum, Te Papa Tongarewa, have begun dissecting the female colossal squid that has been kept carefully on ice since it was hauled up from a depth somewhere between 4,000 to 6,000 feet in waters off Antarctica.
A ship trawling for Patagonian toothfish, also known as Chilean sea bass, caught the giant creature. When the fishermen realized what they had snagged, they rigged a tarpaulin to preserve the animal as best they could before returning it to New Zealand and the museum.
While researchers have known of the species since 1925, evidence was limited to pieces discovered inside whales or the imprint of the squid's suckers on whale skin until 2007, when the first intact specimen was collected, also near Antarctica.
That specimen has been on display at the museum since 2008.
Scientists at the museum and the Auckland University of Technology, who collaborated on the forensic dissection, said the newest find is so well preserved they were to examine it at a level of detail never before possible.
"This was by far the most perfect colossal squid that I have seen," university researcher Kat Bolstad said.
The sex of the squid was confirmed when the researchers found eggs within.
The dissection revealed three hearts, a feature found in other squid species and in octopuses; one pumps blood within the body while the other two work directly with the gills.
The researchers were especially impressed by the preservation of the squid's eyes.
"This one had two perfect eyes," Bolstad said. "They have very large and very delicate eyes because they live in the deep sea. It's very rare to see an eye in good condition at all."
Moving the squid from the freezer where it was being stored to a water tank where the dissection was carried out required a forklift, the researchers said.
The 3-hour dissection session was carried live on YouTube.
Samples taken from the creature included DNA samples, which will be stored and be accessible to scientists around the world conducting research on the marine animals, the scientists said.
After the samples were taken for study the squid was to be preserved for more research and for eventual display, Bolstad said.
"The fact that we have a specimen in good shape, but that we can get so much information from and still have in good shape, is a win-win," she said.
