NOAA scientists discover giant squid in Gulf of Mexico

Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration–part of the U.S. Department of Commerce–discovered a giant squid off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico. The scientists were studying the diets of sperm whales when they discovered the squid at a depth of about 1,500 ft.

The squid, 19.5 ft. long and more than 103 pounds, did not survive the quick change in water depth as it was pulled to the surface, according to Reuters. It has been sent to the Smithsonian’s National Museum for Natural History to be studied. According to the NOAA’s site, this is only the second giant squid found in the Gulf; specimens this large are usually found around Spain or New Zealand.

Reuters broke the news on Twitter, and Twitterers quickly followed up with excitement for the elusive giant:

Reuters_Science (location undisclosed)U.S. scientists net giant squid in Gulf of Mexico http://link.reuters.com/pat77d 21 Sep 2009 from Reuters.com

LANews0verviews (Louisiana)LA News Holy tentacles! Giant squid caught off Louisiana – Biloxi Sun Herald: NEW ORLEANS — Government s.. http://bit.ly/KYe8d 21 Sep 2009 from twitterfeed

Toners4Life (location undisclosed)RT @Reuters_Science U.S. scientists net giant squid in Gulf of Mexico http://link.reuters.com/pat77d Amazing! 21 Sep 2009 from web

blathering(New Orleans, Louisiana) RT @liprap: @The_Gambit The Dome could be attacked…by a RARE GIANT SQUID…we’d all think it was in our heads b/c we’re all INSANE. Nice 22 Sep 2009 from Seesmic

meagnets (Canada) This furthers my fascination/phobia of sea creatures! RT @strangestuff: Scientists Catch Giant Squid Off Louisiana Coast http://bit.ly/bqC3r 22 Sep 2009 from Echofon

pkedrosky(La Jolla, California) Ooooh! First time RT @NatGeoSociety: PICTURE: Giant Squid Caught Alive, Briefly, off U.S. http://bit.ly/2WvQ5k 22 Sep 2009 from Echofon

cgrant (Newport, Rhode Island) Ah rekindling my odd fascination with giant cephalopods -> RT @MarkClayson: Giant Squid Caught Alive, Briefly, off U.S. http://bit.ly/4dvF 22 Sep 2009 from TweetDeck

Colo_kea (Boulder, Colorado) RT @NatGeoSociety: Giant Squid Caught Alive, Briefly http://tinyurl.com/mneeqs <<what made them think they could bring it up alive?? 22 Sep 2009 from TweetDeck

FPHLCC (Brentwood Bay, British Columbia) Fascinating! RT @NatGeoSociety PICTURE: Giant Squid Caught Alive, Briefly, off U.S http://tinyurl.com/mneeqs 22 Sep 2009 from web

alicehu (Boston, Massachusetts) So cool and gross RT @NatGeoSociety PICTURE: Giant Squid Caught Alive, Briefly, off U.S.: For the first time. .. http://tinyurl.com/mneeqs 22 Sep 2009 from web

karmamule (Las Vegas, Nevada) Say some OMPH mantras for giant squid entangled in 1500 foot deep trawl in Gulf of Mexico: http://ow.ly/qzlD Big pic: http://ow.ly/qznF 22 Sep 2009 from HootSuite

dethe (Vancouver, British Columbia) @pkedrosky We’re really hosed now that we’ve angered the giant squid community by killing one of their children. 22 Sep 2009 from Tweetie in reply to pkedrosky

Other users, however, think there are bigger fish to fry:

carolinefjones (Washington, D.C.)Giant Squid in Gulf of Mexico? Mega Shark must be close by! http://tinyurl.com/nmj4j8 21 Sep 2009 from web

ThatArdraGuy (Indianapolis)@DaisiesAndShit It’s nothing supernatural…just a giant, ship-eating squid. Hey, it makes more sense than a lot of other theories! 21 Sep 2009 from web

firstdogonmoon (Melbourne, Australia)@TagAlongTess Giant Squid on the Public Broadcaster? Typical lefty enviro softie muck. Ooh ooh help the giant squid are dying. No I didn’t. 22 Sep 2009 from TweetDeck in reply to TagAlongTess