World's biggest squid reveals 'beach ball' eyes

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2008

WELLINGTON (AFP) — The largest squid ever caught began to reveal its secrets Wednesday, including eyes the size of beach balls that one scientist said were likely the biggest ever known in the animal kingdom.

The 495-kilogram (1,090-pound) colossal squid -- accidentally caught by a fishing boat in Antarctic waters in February 2007 -- is slowly thawing under the fascinated gaze of a team of scientists at the Museum of New Zealand.

While the defrosting was taking longer than expected Wednesday, one of the earliest revelations were eyes measuring 27 centimetres (11 inches) across -- about 11 times the size of a human eye -- with lenses of 10 to 12 centimetres in diameter.

"We saw two of the most sensational eyes possible," Auckland University of Technology...