Sea Monsters: Search for the Giant Squid Page #2

and vicious and fierce."

"They have no reason t be, uh,

vindictive and fierce.

They normally don't interact

with human beings.

Uh, in fact, I wish they would

act a little more,

react with human beings

so that we could find them.

At any rate, I think the reputation

is certainly not deserved at all.

"Because they're so interesting,

on their own account, that we don't

need to make things up about them.

"Squids are really exciting to me

because they have wonderful

adaptations for the,

for their life in the sea,

and these include things like:

like photophores or light organs,

where they can flash and glow,

uh, different colors;

they are fast animals; they're

powerful; some like cat's claws to,

to collect their prey; uh, some

of really are fascinating animals."

Squid are weird and wonderful -

they, and their close relatives,

have been called "aliens

from inner space."

Indeed, they ride the underwater

currents with a serenity

that seems almost supernatural.

Squid are remarkably intelligent,

and their primary nerve fibers are

the largest in the animal kingdom -

a hundred times the diameter

of humans.

Thousands of multi-celled organs,

called chromatophores,

are scattered across their skin.

Each, receives signals directly

from the brain.

This allows cuttlefish and squid to

transform their appearance -

in less than a second.

These changes in appearance

provide camouflage

and a dramatic means of

communication.

From seductive yearnings to

aggressive warnings,

all can be conveyed by resplendent

displays of light and color.

The advanced nervous system

gives them lightning reflexes

and a deadly attack.

Off the California coast,

near Monterey,

a submersible robot is lowered

into the deep.

"sonar is..."

Below, is Monterey Canyon,

the deepest submarine fissure along

the continental United States

and probably the most carefully

observed deep water in the world.

Scientists from the Monterey Bay

Aquarium Research Institute

have been studying life in

canyon on a regular basis

for more than a decade.

"Yeah... what's up here to the right."

"Look at this guy, right up..."

Any day, they could discover

a living Architeuthis

and they have observed many

remarkable squid.

They have also observed species of

squid never before seen alive

in their natural element.

Moroteuthis, a slender

and very large squid,

which grows up to 15 feet;

Like the giant squid, almost

nothing is known about its behavior.

Perhaps the strangest

is Vampyroteuthis.

It's been called a "living fossil"

and is completely covered with

what seem to be light organs,

But whose exact function is unknown.

It's a remarkable contortionist,

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