Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Colossal squid's big eye revealed

edesignuk

edesignuk

Moderator emeritus
Original poster
Mar 25, 2002
19,232
2
London, England
The huge eye of the world's largest squid has been revealed by scientists dissecting a rare, intact half-tonne specimen in New Zealand.

colossalsquideye.jpg

About 27cm (11in) across, scientists believe the colossal squid's eye is the biggest animal eye ever found.

The 10-metre (34 feet) long specimen, caught last year near Antarctica, has been defrosting since Monday.

Very little is known about colossal squid; only about 10 have ever been caught and brought to shore.

....

With a diameter larger than a football, these would help the fearsome hunters locate prey in the dark Southern Ocean depths. The pupils alone are about 8cm (3in) across
Click to expand...
BBC.

Damn, eyes the size of a football. Freaky.
 
blueflame said:
what am I missing, that picture does not show eyes the size of footballs
A
Click to expand...
"Two parts of the lens from one of the colossal squid's eyes. The scientists believe these two parts formed the centrepiece of the bigger whole lens, and the outer, softer portions have degraded."
 
blueflame said:
what am I missing, that picture does not show eyes the size of footballs
A
Click to expand...

From the article:

"Two parts of the lens from one of the colossal squid's eyes. The scientists believe these two parts formed the centrepiece of the bigger whole lens, and the outer, softer portions have degraded."

So that's just a small part of the whole eye.
 
wordmunger said:
From the article:

"Two parts of the lens from one of the colossal squid's eyes. The scientists believe these two parts formed the centrepiece of the bigger whole lens, and the outer, softer portions have degraded."

So that's just a small part of the whole eye.
Click to expand...

Yup. That is the just the lens. Which is the part that focuses {see educational image below}. Your lens is small enough to hold on the tip of your finger (you probably don't want to test that).
 

Attachments

  • Macula_hole_fig_1.jpg
    Macula_hole_fig_1.jpg
    92.2 KB · Views: 57
Very interesting! It had already been established that the squid has the largest eye of any living creature, but to see one this size is astonishing. That's definitely something I wouldn't want to run into on a sailing trip!

question fear said:
Somewhere, Jules Verne is gloating and pointing out "Right again!"
Click to expand...

:D You just made my morning!
 
thats just amazing.

also its a female, which means this is probably as big as they grow, perhaps a bit larger/smaller depending, but the females would certainly be more likely to grow larger than the males.
 
And that is why I don't swim where I can't see the bottom. Ewww... But very interesting.


What was it doing in Antarctica?
 
Abstract said:
I saw on the news that the scientists even ate some of that squid, just to see how it tastes. They reported that it tastes like normal sashimi. Riveting!
Click to expand...

Ironically, when I first read about this, I was wondering what that giant squid would taste like. Hmm...those lenses intrigue me as well. I wonder if they are edible.Though the thought of eating an eyeball disgusts me, those two things look kind of tasty.
 
.Andy said:
I'd say no. The lens is composed of laminated, cristallin proteins. It'd be like trying to eat cartilage, only worse.
Click to expand...

You making fun of my wife? She made crystaline proteins for dinner tonight. Don't taste like chicken.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back