Site of the Week
In Search of Giant Squid http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN_PLANET/HTML/squid_opening.html
Twenty thousand leagues under the sea (give or take a few leagues) there lurks one of the most elusive creatures known to science. The giant squid has been little more than a fictional character until quite recently, and this site takes as close a look as is possible…
‘From Myth to Reality’ unveils the story of the giant squid’s discovery, comparing the scientific evidence which now exists with the legendary monsters reported for hundreds of years previously. While scientists have yet to witness a giant squid in the wild, a number of tantalising tentacled glimpses have been found by fishermen or washed up on beaches around the world, and here you can see for yourself. As well as the specifics of the giants, you’ll find a comprehensive set of background sections looking at squid biology and at the cephalopod group as a whole. There’s good collection of pictures and illustrations throughout the site, and there are lots of photos from the original exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History.
There are still more questions than answers when it comes to the giant squid, and as a leading expert in the field points out, “if we went out to capture a giant squid today, we still wouldn’t know exactly where to look.” Thanks to this great site, at least you now know where to find the questions.
Richard Northover
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