| Tales of giant squid have been common among mariners since
ancient times, and may have led to the Norwegian legend of the kraken, a
tentacled sea monster as large as an island capable of engulfing and sinking
any ship. Japetus Steenstrup, the describer of Architeuthis, suggested a
giant squid was the species described as a sea monk to the Danish king Christian
III c.1550. The Lusca of the Caribbean and Scylla in Greek mythology may
also derive from giant squid sightings. Eyewitness accounts of other sea
monsters like the sea serpent are also thought to be mistaken interpretations
of giant squid. Steenstrup wrote a number of papers on giant squid in the
1850s. He first used the term "Architeuthus" (this was the spelling
he used) in a paper in 1857. A portion of a giant squid was secured by the
French gunboat Alecton in 1861 leading to wider recognition of the genus
in the scientific community. From 1870 to 1880, many squid were stranded
on the shores of Newfoundland. For example, a specimen washed ashore in
Thimble Tickle Bay, Newfoundland on November 2, 1878; its mantle was reported
to be 6.1 metres (20 ft) long, with one tentacle 10.7 metres (35 ft) long,
and it was estimated as weighing 2.2 tonnes. In 1873, a squid "attacked"
a minister and a young boy in a dory in Bell Island, Newfoundland. Many
strandings also occurred in New Zealand during the late 19th century. |
 |
