I'm getting quite wrapped up in this thread. Just found the following about the sex-life of the giant squid.

"It is thought that the male giant squid uses its penis as a form of pneumatic nail gun to shoot its sperm into the flesh of its mate, a gelatinous coating on the spermatophores acting as a form of lubricant." - Rattatata..

Also, "A particularly interesting reproductive feature shared by a few species of deep sea squid, and possibly the giant squid, is a phenomenon known as terminal spawning. The adults of these species will almost literally disintegrate after reproducing. Their muscles become soft and flabby, their tentacles drop off, and they die. - Hope Spaw reads that

C'mon someone, I want some verses ... ;)

The above, and a heap more good info is on the good old BBC Natural History site.

Anyway, going back to the tank for Archeteuthis it would have to be better than the ones we used for arrow squid and small octopi, when we were setting up Island Bay Marine Laboratory in Wellington (NZ) in the mid-60s. The Arrow Squid kept getting airborn and dying on the floor, while the octopi kept blocking the overflow pipes, resuling in a lab flooded with seawater

Cheers - Sam


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