New records of the giant squid Architeuthis dux in the southern Indian Ocean

Only one specimen of Architeuthis dux was previously reported from the southern Indian Ocean. The present work adds ten new records of giant squid in the area. Two remains of fresh specimens have been collected from La Réunion Island (21°S) and Amsterdam Island (38°S) in tropical and subtropical wat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
Main Author: Cherel, Yves
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2003
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315403008695
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315403008695
Description
Summary:Only one specimen of Architeuthis dux was previously reported from the southern Indian Ocean. The present work adds ten new records of giant squid in the area. Two remains of fresh specimens have been collected from La Réunion Island (21°S) and Amsterdam Island (38°S) in tropical and subtropical waters, respectively. Eight other squid were identified from beaks found in stomach contents of sleeper sharks caught in Kerguelen waters (47 to 48°S) located in the southern Polar Frontal Zone. These new data together with published and unpublished information on the food of seabirds and marine mammals indicate that giant squid have a wide distribution throughout the southern Indian Ocean.