~ Architeuthis dux ~

Whether living or extinct, on land or at sea, in literature or in life, large animals have long fascinated people. The largest animals have been known and hunted since prehistory: whales, walruses, elephants, rhinos, hippos, giraffes, and large fishes. In fact, much of the large species of fauna went extinct in Australia, New Guinea, Asia, Madagascar and the Americas, quite possibly due to overhunting or climate change.

However, one large animal has gone almost unnoticed or certainly unobserved in its habitat. That animal is the giant squid. Although these animals have been found in the nets of commercial fishermen, in the stomachs of sperm whales, and washed ashore on different continents, no scientific information has been gathered by direct observations of live giant squid.

Giant squid (Architeuthis) are the largest invertebrates on Earth, reaching lengths of 20 m, and are one of the biggest predators surviving in the deep sea. But if they are so big, why don't we know more about giant squid? Since they are so deep, how do we know anything at all? Search for Giant Squid begins with the myths that surround this most elusive creature, then takes us through the steady accumulation of knowledge that brings us to our present understanding of these magnificent cephalopods. Dr. Clyde Roper is on a quest to find these giants and record their behavior by direct observation.