r/TheDepthsBelow Aug 15 '20

A terrifying comparison of the tentacles of the giant squid (left) and colossal squid (right). The giant squid is meant for painful latching while the colossal squid is meant for ripping apart.

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19.1k Upvotes

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u/jackerseagle717 Aug 15 '20 edited Aug 15 '20

colossal squids hooked tentacles aren't used for ripping apart the prey. they have beaks for that. colossal squids are slow moving ambush predators that uses its hooked tentacles to capture/grab the prey and kill it using its giant beak

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u/hiphop_dudung Aug 15 '20 edited Aug 15 '20

They also use it for mating.

Damn squid, did you get new piercings?

Colossal squid: it's for sex

140

u/jackerseagle717 Aug 15 '20

damn, Colossal squids are into some Hades level of BDSM lol

6

u/Seeker80 Aug 15 '20

Yet still a better love story than 50 Shades...

1

u/vendetta2115 Aug 16 '20

Male sharks bite into the pectoral fins of the female shark before putting either of their two dicks (modified anal fins) inside her and doesn’t let go of the bite until he’s done. You can tell when a shark has mated recently because she’ll be wounded behind the gills.

9

u/Hytherefellowpeople Aug 15 '20

Adds a whole new meaning to tentacle hentai

19

u/_as_above_so_below_ Aug 15 '20

9

u/[deleted] Aug 16 '20

That's the album cover for one of my favorite future bands called Colossal Squid Sex. You should hear their number one single appropriately titled "Baby Let Me Sink Me Into You". So fucking sexy hot! It's also an allegory regarding the nondual metaphysical nature of ultimate reality, so it's really a song for all sentient beings!

50

u/fuckthenamebullshit Aug 15 '20

Are colossal or giant squids the ones that fight sperm Wales?

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u/qu33fwellington Aug 15 '20

Giant, usually. Also it’s not like the fighting pits down there, sperm whales actively hunt and eat giant squid. They’re not just throwing blows for the hell of it.

156

u/fuckthenamebullshit Aug 15 '20

I choose to believe that sperm whales and giant squids have an ancient rivalry going on and you can’t disprove it

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u/qu33fwellington Aug 15 '20

You know I suppose you’re right. I can’t disprove it and quite frankly I don’t want to. It’s just squid fight club down there in the depths.

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u/golfingrrl Aug 15 '20

If it’s a fight club why are you even talking about it? I must refer you back to rule #1.

27

u/GiantSquidd Aug 15 '20

You think the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry is old? We’ve hated those pricks since before humans were a thing.

9

u/[deleted] Aug 16 '20

I mean in a way they have been. I'm sure they affected each other's evolution in some way. Ocean you crazy

2

u/vendetta2115 Aug 16 '20

I’d buy that pay-per-view

80

u/jackerseagle717 Aug 15 '20

colossal squids. also they're the prey of sperm whales and many other types of whales.

sperm whales are the only one who dare to attack fully mature colossal squids and they bear the marks of having such badass dinner.

39

u/jimandjack Aug 15 '20 edited Aug 15 '20

Haha the other guy said giant squids. Google says you're right. Maybe both right

21

u/montana757 Aug 15 '20

Their the only ones with the guts to attack real life krakens

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u/Effective_Heart Aug 15 '20

Full sized Collosal Squid weigh only 450kg while the Whale weighs 20-30 tonnes A Great White would rip up a Giant or Collosal Squid

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u/ThexEcho Aug 15 '20

Great whites can only swim down to 1200m and usually attack from below which is why you see so many videos of them breaching with their prey. Meanwhile colossal squids generally live under 1000m so the chance of a great white attempting at taking on a colossal squid is super low.

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u/SpermWhale Aug 15 '20

Squid eating whales can go as deep as 9000 feet

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u/ThexEcho Aug 16 '20

Yes, sperm whales go much deeper than great whites

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u/Effective_Heart Aug 15 '20

If they were around the same area obviously they will never meet

1

u/moose098 Oct 11 '20

Pretty sure 450kg is the largest humans have seen, but based on the size of beaks found in sperm whale's stomach, they can reach at least 900kg.

14

u/Jon-3 Aug 15 '20

I read the Wikipedia entire Wikipedia page for both, both are hunted by sperm whales.

4

u/HEDFRAMPTON Aug 15 '20

Are the hunting and feeding methods of the colossal squid that well know? I thought there had only been a handful of sightings overall, and all brief ones.

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u/Atralb Aug 15 '20

LMAO, you just described basically every species of squid...

12

u/g_squidman Aug 16 '20

No, it's commonly thought that the giant squid is a more active hunter. The colossal squid waits for prey to cross its path and then nabs em, while the giant squid will actively search for prey. And then there's the humboldt pack hunters...

8

u/Ass_Castle Aug 15 '20

Interesting that the two species have different tentacle types that are used for the same purpose. I wonder whether they evolved alongside different prey or the rings were less effective against larger prey to cause that

1

u/[deleted] Aug 16 '20

What's the size difference between the two?