From: Twink (neptune@mars.superlink.net)
Date: Fri Nov 21 1997 - 17:15:08 MST
At 11:28 PM 11/20/97 -0800, Warrl kyree Tale'sedrin <warrl@blarg.net> wrote:
>> I was reading _Invertabrates_ by Brusca and Brusca, a very large and
>
>Reading this, I have to ask: did they include the giant squid?
Yes.
>The Pacific giant octopus is basically on a human scale; the giant
>squid is HUGE, with tentacles known to exceed fifty feet in some
>cases.
And weighs in at about 1 English Ton.
>However, the giant squid is a deep-water creature, that has trouble
>tolerating the low pressures to be found near the surface of the
>ocean. To the best of my knowledge, scientists have never managed to
>do any meaningful observation of one in its natural habitat or in
>good health. What we know of them is from dead or near-dead ones,
>and fragments (which are usually sections of tentacle), that have
>floated to the surface and washed ashore or otherwise been spotted.
There is a photo in the book of one washed up on a beach. Sad.
>(I personally think the giant squid is a bad choice for an uplift
>experiment. But NOT because of small brains. For one good reason,
>read the previous paragraph. For another, what we DO know
>about them indicates that they are rather less than sociable.)
But their brains are very small, comparatively speaking, and even their
smaller cousins -- other squids -- are not too smart.
As for sociality, http://is.dal.ca/~ceph/redocto.html calims Octopus
rubescens, or the red octopus, ("a small speceis that are found in the
Eastern Pacific Ocean from Mexico to Alaska.) has been reported to
school. In others words, herd, which is an indication of social behavior.
Daniel Ust
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