New Zealand's colossal squid defies legends: scientists

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

WELLINGTON (AFP) — New Zealand's mysterious colossal squid, the largest of the feared and legendary species ever caught, was not the T-Rex of the oceans but a lethargic blob, new research suggests.

The 495 kilogramme (1,090-pound) female, accidently hauled in by a fishing boat in the Antarctic last year, was an overweight breeding machine, leading marine biologist Steve O'Shea told AFP Thursday.

The colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni), donated to the country's national museum, was probably quite docile when alive, said O'Shea.

"The colossal species has a reputation for being an aggressive and dangerous predator and have been feared and misrepresented in the past," O'Shea said.

"My research suggests they're not the T-rex of the sea, they get...