There are also attempts to modify engines, which can cause major problems. Most involve trying to make a bike look “cooler” via unnecessary decorations-such as slapping multiple stickers on the frame, which just makes it look worse. Many of them involve behavior such as trying to show off too much and believing stunts one sees on TV can easily be performed in real life.Īn even bigger issue is that squids tend to go overboard on modifications on their motorcycles and that makes them the subject of many jokes. Too many rookie motorcycle owners make far too many mistakes in how they handle a bike. Examples include the Humbolt squid ( Dosidicus gigas), which can grow to 1.5m, the Dana octopus squid ( Taningia danae), which grows to 1.7m and over 150kg, and the Enteroctopus giant octopuses which can grow to over 3m long.In the motorcycle culture, squids are often a source of open mockery. There are also a number of "large" cephalopods with upper sizes that are larger than humans and are often thought to be giant squids when they wash up. They are even rarer than giant squids, so data is scarce and it will likely be many years until the debate on while species is larger is settled. In addition to the giant squid, Southern Ocean is home to the Antarctic colossal squid ( Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni), which is shorter than the giant squid but is estimated to have a larger weight - and thus a larger size. ![]() Originally, eight species of giant squids were described, but a 2013 DNA study revealed that all giant squid species were the same. By comparison, our local Cape Hope squid ( Loligo reynaudii), or calamari as you probably know them, grow to just 30cm. The largest giant squid ever recorded in South Africa was 9.1m, and washed up at Kommetjie in 1992. Recent evidence also indicates that giant squids fight each other to steal food - sometimes to the death. Giant squids eat deep-sea fish and other squid species, even preying on other giant squids when food becomes scarce. This chemical tastes like salty, rotten liquorice and is the main reason nobody eats giant squids. Instead, the giant squid circulates a high concentration of ammonium chloride solution throughout its body, which is less dense that the sodium chloride solution of seawater. Most sea creatures rely on gas pockets to maintain neutral buoyancy - but this is a risky trait for deep-sea predators that risk bursting if they rise too quickly and depressurise. They also have a pair of small fins that are used to steer. Like other squids, giant squids swim using jet propulsion, by blasting water out of their mantles with the help of a siphon. Rings of serrated chitin inside the giant squid's suckers provide its only defence against its greatest predator - sperm whales. It's unclear where in the water column giant squids live, but those that have accidentally been caught by trawlers indicate an estimated depth range of 300m to 1km. Although the Mediterranean Sea has seen three of the approximately 677 known giant squid sightings, the consensus is that these squids were not native to the area. Although it seems that the open ocean is the preferred habitat, connected seas, particularly the Tasman, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico also seem to be suitable habitats. ![]() The areas with the most giant squid specimens reported are Newfoundland, Spain, Portugal, South Africa, Namibia, Japan, New Zealand and Australia. Giant squids are found in all the oceans, but seem to prefer temperate water temperatures and are more rare in polar and tropical oceans. This is the reason why almost all giant squids seen by humans have been badly injured or are dead - but that does not mean they aren't thriving in the deep ocean. Perhaps most critically, dissolved gases in the blood and tissue of the squid will come out of solution and form bubbles during decompression - something scuba divers refer to as "the bends". Even though giant squids do not have the gas-filled swim bladders of fish (more on that later) that are susceptible to traumatic injury when surfacing, the rapid changes in temperature and water chemistry of the upper ocean are not suitable for them. Unfortunately, deep-sea animals do not usually survive being brought rapidly to the surface, so those grabbed by predators, like whales, or snagged by fishing trawlers make poor study specimens for marine biologists. The Two Oceans Aquarium's Japanese spider crabs are another excellent example of deep-sea gigantism.
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