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The Habitat of Giant Squids

Paintings of giant squid attacking masted sailing ships notwithstanding, these shy marine invertebrates rarely have contact with humans. Biologists get the opportunity to examine Architeuthis dux, the giant squid, only after the animal's death. Because marine biologists so rarely see them, much of the knowledge scientists have of this species remains tentative. Scientists know more about the creatures' habitat from studying their stomach contents and morphology than from direct observation.

Temperate Zones
- Architeuthis dux specimens wash up most frequently on shorelines in temperate zones rather than in circumpolar or equatorial regions. Norway, Newfoundland, Japan and Australia receive the largest number of giant squid beachings. The animals also appear on the southern coastlines of Africa and South America. While carcasses that wash ashore do not absolutely predict the animals' chosen habitats in life, the locations in which they wash up and the species they've consumed give an indication that the creatures prefer temperate waters to cold or heat.
Global Presence
- Scientists can say without doubt that giant squid live in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Despite the difficulties that researchers have faced with finding live Architeuthis dux in the ocean, the animals wash ashore frequently and during all seasons, suggesting the squid thrive in large numbers around the world. Giant squid have washed up on every continental land mass except Antarctica.
Deep Waters
- Giant squid, like other massive marine life forms, prefer sufficient space in which to maneuver. They spend their adult lives in the colder waters of depths from 200 to 1,000 meters. Younger squid seem to prefer shallower waters of 100 to 300 meters deep. Analysis of giant squid stomach contents shows that their preferred food sources are deep-water fish and other smaller squid species. Their ammonia-rich bodies and lack of air bladders also suggests that these squid live at greater depths.
Continental Shelves
- Giant squid prefer the deeper waters near continental shelves. These zones contain an abundant mix of species compared to the relatively barren abyssal plains below, yet offers the depth that these organisms need to maneuver. Larger sharks and whales that dwell in this twilight region of the water column may compete with giant squid for food or even prey on the squid themselves; sperm whales' stomachs have disgorged giant squid beaks when researchers or whalers cut open the mammals' stomachs.

Animals & Science