|
RARE
GIANT SQUID GOES ON EXHIBITION OCTOBER 12 AT THE
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
The world's best-preserved
specimen of a giant squid, the largest living invertebrate on Earth,
goes on display on Tuesday, October 12, 1999, in the Hall of Biodiversity
at the American Museum of Natural History. The 25-foot-long male giant
squid (Architeuthis kirkii) weighs 250 pounds and came to the
Museum in 1998 from New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric
Research.
"The squid's
arrival in June 1998 attracted considerable attention because so little
is known about these mysterious creatures," said Michael J. Novacek,
Museum senior vice president and provost. "Giant squid live at
least a mile below the ocean's surface, and they have never been seen
alive."
Of the dozens of
squid species of large squid in the oceans, none comes close to the
giant squid in size. It remains the stuff of nightmares and lurks as
a sea monster in literature like Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under
the Sea.
"The giant squid
is the largest invertebrate on Earth, and a member of the class Cephalopoda,
which includes octopus, nautilus, and extinct ammonites," said Neil
Landman, curator in the Division of Paleantology. "It has the largest
eyes in the animal kingdom - this one's eyes are six inches across.
It also has a huge, parrotlike beak that it uses to rip chunks of flesh
from its prey, probably fish. The squid has eight arms and two long
tentacles, all equipped with toothed sucker rings. The mantle, or main
body cavity of the Museum's specimen is 4 feet long, the head and arms
are another 6 feet, and the two tentacles extend 15 feet beyond the
end of the arms."
The Museum's squid
was caught accidentally in late 1997, by a fishing boat in waters off
New Zealand. It was flash-frozen on the boat and flown to New York,
where it was delivered to the Museum on June 10 by refrigerated truck.
Dr. Landman and Dr. Paula Mikkelsen, assistant curator in the Division
of Invertebrate Zoology, both performed the initial examination of the
squid and subsequent preservation processes. They were assisted by Steve
O'Shea, a biologist at the New Zealand National Institute, who arranged
the donation, plus members of the Museum's staff. The three-week procedure
included thawing and spreading out the specimen for measurement and
observation, followed by injection with formalin. It remained two weeks
in formalin, during which time the solution was closely monitored for
changes in acidity. After washing and a one-week soak in fresh water,
the squid was transferred into ethyl alcohol, the preservative in which
it rests today.
The squid is on
display in a specially created tank of fiberglass with glass windows
-- which took over a year to design -- by the Museum Department of Exhibitions,
under the direction of David Harvey, Vice President for Exhibitions.
The Museum already has two life-size models of giant squid on view.
One hangs from the ceiling opposite the real specimen in the Hall of
Biodiversity and is a 105-year-old paper-mache model that is 42-feet-long.
Purchased in 1895, it is the oldest model on display at the Museum.
The other model can be seen battling a sperm whale -- its best-known
predator -- in a diorama in the adjacent Hall of Ocean Life. The Museum's
new giant squid specimen is expected to be on display for about two
years, and then it will go to the Museum's research departments for
study.
# # #
PLEASE NOTE THE GIANT SQUID IS NO LONGER ON DISPLAY
For
media information contact the Department of Communications, 212-769-5800;
communications@amnh.org.
Return
to Main Menu
|
