Giant squid

[xiphias]

Giant squid!

Actually, bigger than giant squid. Colossal squid. Really big squid. Really, really big.

I like living on a planet that still has a couple real monsters out there.

Comments

[copperpoint.livejournal.com]

I noticed that too. I was very happy. I have an interesting book on Giant Squid. I'll try and dig it up if you're interested. The first half is very entertaining, where in the second the author goes through old descriptions of "sea monsters" and tries to justify how they were probably giant squid.

[goljerp]

Two responses:

1. Yet another Jules Verne prediction found true. (I seem to recall that the squid in 2,000 leagues under the sea was too big to be a mere giant squid.)
   
2. I wonder if that thing is intelligent...

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Define "intelligent". I'm sure it's at least as smart as a regular squid -- maybe even as smart as an octopus. But I doubt it has a much better brain-to-bodyweight ratio than a regular squid, which, while not an absolute predictor of intelligence, is about as good as we've got for wild-ass-guessing.

Of course, GURPS Bestiary 3rd Edition has an option of giving the Giant Squid an IQ of up to 8, which is borderline sapient. It's normally considered to have an IQ of 4, though.

I guess my question is, "why would the giant squid evolve intelligence?" They've got tentacles that could work as manipulators, true, but what is there to manipulate at that depth in the ocean?

How would they communicate? Do giant squid have color vision? I know that octopi do, and can change color depending on emotional state. So I could imagine a complex language of color shifts being developed by giant squid. But that presumes two things that I don't know are true about giant or colossal squid -- the vision and the ability to shift colors.

Some people have theorized that it's more difficult to evolve intelligence underwater, because you don't have the ability to make fire. I don't know if I buy that argument, but I might suggest that you need something to manipulate -- dolphins, for instance, herd schools of fish, which, to me, counts as manipulating one's environment. If colossal squid live on the ocean bottom, there might be things to manipulate there.

All of a sudden, I got this image of giant alien cities on the ocean floor, built by colossal tentacles. . .

[goljerp]

Define "intelligent".

Smarter than a small tree? Um...

I'm sure it's at least as smart as a regular squid -- maybe even as smart as an octopus. But I doubt it has a much better brain-to-bodyweight ratio than a regular squid, which, while not an absolute predictor of intelligence, is about as good as we've got for wild-ass-guessing.

Dang, must stop falling into the "big brain = lots o' smarts" trap. But it would likely have a really big brain. Right? Big brain... must be smart...

I guess my question is, "why would the giant squid evolve intelligence?" They've got tentacles that could work as manipulators, true, but what is there to manipulate at that depth in the ocean?

Good question. Well, if they're trying to prey upon Sperm whales, which aren't totally dim, then they might need it. Or if they're doing complex herding of fish. Or figuring out how to have sex without getting totally tangled up. Or maybe there's an advantage to hunting whales if they can understand their communications...

How would they communicate? Do giant squid have color vision?

Well, if they're spending any time in the great deep, then they probably couldn't just communicate by changing color. I don't know how deep they go, although the article suggested they do come close to the surface on occasion. Of course, they might not even have color vision. Maybe they could communicate by releasing chemicals into the water around them? That does have limitations, though. Hmm...

All of a sudden, I got this image of giant alien cities on the ocean floor, built by colossal tentacles. . .

Yeah, that would be cool!

Gawds

[tendyl.livejournal.com]

My response? Good Gawds, that fricking huuuge! Dang! Neat! *laughs* Thanks for the link hon!