Giant Squid DNA Reveals There’s Only One Global Population

Giant squids, the sea creature once attributed to be nothing more than marine lore, were first discovered to exist over 150 years ago, but continue to surprise scientists. Earlier this week, it was discovered that the giant squid is a rarity among sea animals in that it never experienced genetic segregating to create sub-species in the oceans of the world.

It was only last year that the giant squid, scientifically known as Architeuthis dux, was first filmed in its natural habitat. Before then, all that was known of the creature had been learned from stray body parts that had washed ashore or had been found inside the stomachs of sperm whales, according to Business Insider. Researchers believe that the giant squid has 10 arms, can grow to over 40 feet long and weigh up to 2,000 lbs. Their diet consists of various fish and even other giant squid.

This latest discovery was made by researchers who studied 43 specimens of giant squid found in all corners of the world, including California, Florida, New Zealand and South Africa. They were shocked to learn that all of the animal specimens possessed similar genetic makeups.

How is that possible? Researchers believe that when in its youth, the giant squid lives in shallow water and floats along with the global ocean currents. Once they reach a certain level of maturity, they sink down into the greater depths of the ocean – feeding off larger prey, and mating to release their offspring back up the shallow waters. Thus, the cycle continues.

To read more about the latest giant squid finding, check out the journal article from the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences that was published on Wednesday.

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