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  • This is the internal shell of a deep-water cephalopod called a Ram’s horn squid, also known as a little post horn squid (Spirula spirula). This cephalopod is the only known member of its genus. The internal shell is both robust and buoyant, so often found on beaches. This one washed up during a mass stranding of thousands of Physalia utriculus amd other animals of the open-ocean, pelagic community. Attached to the shell were pelagic goose barnacles (Lepas sp.).
    rams-horn-shell-spirula-goose-barnac...tif
  • Measuring part of an Architeuthis giant squid feeding arm that I recovered after seeing a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) breach in the deep waters of the Ogasawara islands in Japan. The squid arm, which was only a portion of the entire feeding tentacle, was 351 centimeters.
    measuring-architeuthis-squid-feeding...tif
  • A small Chiroteuthidae squid dropped by a sperm whale. This family of squid are generally small to medium in size, soft and gelatinous, slow moving. This one looks too small to have been a targeted meal for a sperm whale.
    deepwater-Chiroteuthidae-squid-dropp...tif
  • An adult female sperm whale carrying a large piece of giant squid, which this group of whales had brought up from the deep trench. They were playing with the leftover bits of squid, shredding their meal, perhaps in the process of weaning the juvenile sperm whale pictured swimming alongside the female. I followed this group for several days, and this female was the dominant individual, swimming by and using sonar to check out my boat and people in the water.
    sperm-whales-eating-giant-squid-phys...tif
  • Measuring part of an Architeuthis giant squid feeding arm that I recovered after seeing a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) breach in the deep waters of the Ogasawara islands in Japan. The squid arm, which was only a portion of the entire feeding tentacle, was 351 centimeters.
    measuring-architeuthis-giant-squid-a...tif
  • Close-up view of the suckers on the tentacular club of an Architeuthis giant squid. I recovered this squid arm after seeing a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) breach in the waters around Ogasawara, Japan (the Bonin Islands). Note the sharp, serrated teeth that line the edge of the suction cups. These are made of chitin, and help the squid to grasp and secure prey.
    architeuthis-giant-squid-tentacle-su...tif
  • Photographer Douglas Seifert demonstrating the stickiness of the suction rings of an Architeuthis giant squid feeding arm. The squid's suction rings are lined with sharp, serrated teeth made of chitin, which help the animals to grasp and cling to prey. In this photograph, the suction rings are clinging to the glass of Douglas's scuba diving mask. I retrieved this 351-centimeter long Architeuthis arm fragment after seeing a sperm whale breach. Photographed in Ogasawara, Japan.
    douglas-seifert-architeuthis-giant-s...tif
  • This is a 351 centimeter segment of an Architeuthis giant squid tentacular feeding arm left in the water by a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) after it breached. The suction cups on the tentacular clubs are lined with sharp, serrated teeth made of chitin. Photographed in Ogasawara, Bonin Islands, Japan.
    architeuthis-giant-squid-feeding-arm...tif
  • This piece of an Architeuthis giant squid arm was dropped by an adult female sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) shortly after it came up from a deep dive to forage for food. When I retrieved this squid segment, it was as cold as ice. Photographed in Ogasawara, Japan.
    architeuthis-giant-squid-arm-dropped...tif
  • Photographer Douglas Seifert holding a 351-centimeter segment of a Architeuthis giant squid feeding arm, displaying the suction cups lining the tentacular club. The suction cups have sharp, serrated teeth that help the giant cephalopod hold on to its prey. I recovered this giant squid arm segment after seeing a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) breach. Photographed in Ogasawara, Japan.
    architeuthis-giant-squid-japan-ogasw...tif
  • Part of a squid dropped by a sperm whale. From the size, shape and shape of the clubs on the feeding tentacles, my guess is that this is the remnants  of a sharpear enope squid (Ancistrocheirus lesueuri), a mesopelagic squid that sperm whales feed upon in the southern hemisphere.
    ancistrocheirus-lesueuri-sharpear-en...tif
  • I retrieved this after joining a female sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) that had just surfaced from a foraging dive. She had some Architeuthis giant squid arm fragments stuck on her face, and she spat out this piece. When I grabbed this squid arm fragment, it was ice cold.
    ice-cold-architeuthis-giant-squid-ar...tif
  • An adult female sperm whale carrying a large piece of giant squid, which this group of whales had brought up from the deep trench. They were playing with the leftover bits of squid, shredding their meal, perhaps in the process of weaning the juvenile sperm whale pictured swimming alongside the female. I followed this group for several days, and this female was the dominant individual, swimming by and using sonar to check out my boat and people in the water.
    sperm-whales-eating-giant-squid-phys...tif
  • Adult female sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) at the ocean surface with her mouth open. This whale has just surfaced from foraging in deep water. There is a small piece of squid on the tip of her lower jaw. She has many visible scars left by the suckers of Architeuthis sp. giant squid, which seem to be among the primary prey hunted by sperm whales in the waters of Ogasawara (the Bonin Islands) in Japan.
    sperm-whale-mouth-open-ogasawara-jap...tif
  • This is a 351 centimeter segment of an Architeuthis giant squid tentacular arm left in the water by a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) after it breached. The suction cups on the tentacles are lined with sharp, serrated teeth made of chitin. Photographed in Ogasawara, Bonin Islands, Japan.
    architeuthis-giant-squid-tentacular-...tif
  • This is a 351 centimeter segment of an Architeuthis giant squid tentacular arm left in the water by a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) after it breached. The suction cups on the tentacular clubs are lined with sharp, serrated teeth made of chitin. Photographed in Ogasawara, Bonin Islands, Japan.
    tentacular-club-architeuthis-giant-s...tif
  • A small Chiroteuthidae squid dropped by a sperm whale. This family of squid are generally small to medium in size, soft and gelatinous, slow moving. This one looks too small to have been a targeted meal for a sperm whale.
    whiplash-squid-dropped-by-sperm-whal...tif
  • Close-up view of the suckers on the tentacular club of an Architeuthis giant squid. I recovered this squid arm after seeing a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) breach in the waters around Ogasawara, Japan (the Bonin Islands). Note the sharp, serrated teeth that line the edge of the suction cups. These are made of chitin, and help the squid to grasp and secure prey.
    architeuthis-giant-squid-suction-cup...tif
  • This is a dead mature female Ancistrocheirus lesueuri squid, which is a mesopelagic cephalopod living in the range of 200 to 1000 meters depth. This specimen was found at the surface, floating upside down as pictured here. There are photophores visible on the ventral surface (facing up) and hooks on both clubs of the feeding tentacles. This squid is an important part of the diet of sperm whales in the southern hemisphere. There were many sperm whales in the area when this was photographed. This species is ammoniacal, meaning it stores ammonia ions in the arms, head and mantle tissue for buoyancy. Why this specimen would only float upside-down is unclear. Perhaps the ammonia (which is lighter than sea water) was the cause. This specimen was 40cm to 45cm.
    ancistrocheirus-lesueuri-sharpear-en...tif
  • This sperm whale has just come up to breathe, after foraging for prey in deep water. There is a small piece of squid visible, attached to the whale's top left jaw. It is very likely a piece of Architeuthis giant squid, which seem to be relatively common in the deep waters adjacent to the Ogasawara island chain of Japan. There are also scars made by suction cups of squid feeding tentacles visible on the forehead of the whale. Those suction cups are lined with finely serrated rings of teeth made of chitin.
    sperm-whale-physeter-macrocephalus-a...tif
  • An adult female sperm whale carrying a large piece of giant squid, which this group of whales had brought up from the deep trench. They were playing with the leftover bits of squid, shredding their meal, perhaps in the process of weaning the juvenile sperm whale pictured swimming alongside the female. I followed this group for several days, and this female was the dominant individual, swimming by and using sonar to check out my boat and people in the water.
    sperm-whales-eating-giant-squid-phys...tif
  • A family of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) resting at the ocean surface, with the lead female holding Architeuthis giant squid in her mouth. There was a calf in this family group that was unable to dive deep for extended periods of time with the adults. It is possible that the adults were teaching the calf to consume giant squid, as the family group played with the squid for an extended period of time, with the whales shredding the squid to pieces in the process. Photographed in Ogasawara, Japan.
    sperm-whales-eating-giant-squid-phys...tif
  • An adult female sperm whale carrying a large piece of giant squid, which this group of whales had brought up from the deep trench. They were playing with the leftover bits of squid, shredding their meal, perhaps in the process of weaning the juvenile sperm whale pictured swimming alongside the female. I followed this group for several days, and this female was the dominant individual, swimming by and using sonar to check out my boat and people in the water.
    sperm-whales-eating-giant-squid-phys...tif
  • An adult female sperm whale carrying a large piece of giant squid, which this group of whales had brought up from the deep trench. They were playing with the leftover bits of squid, shredding their meal, perhaps in the process of weaning the juvenile sperm whale pictured swimming alongside the female. I followed this group for several days, and this female was the dominant individual, swimming by and using sonar to check out my boat and people in the water.
    sperm-whales-eating-giant-squid-phys...tif
  • Adult female sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) at the ocean surface with her mouth open. This whale has just surfaced from foraging in deep water. There is a small piece of squid on the tip of her lower jaw. She has many visible scars left by the suckers of Architeuthis sp. giant squid, which seem to be among the primary prey hunted by sperm whales in the waters of Ogasawara (the Bonin Islands) in Japan. Note the cluster of sucker scars at the base of the whale's lower jaw. Also, it is possible to see inside the roof of the whale's mouth. This angle shows clearly that the whale has no teeth in the upper jaw, only the lower jaw.
    sperm-whale-physeter-macrocephalus-o...tif
  • This is a 351 centimeter segment of an Architeuthis giant squid feeding arm, laid side-by-side with my friend Shiho Kudo for scale. I recovered this squid arm after seeing a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) breach. Photographed in Ogasawara, Bonin Islands, Japan.
    giant-squid-arm-architeuthis-japan-o...tif
  • I watched this adult female sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) come up from deep water in the Ogasawara islands of Japan, carrying several fragments of Architeuthis giant squid in her mouth. A juvenile sperm whale that was part of her family group joined the adult as she surfaced, and the two swam together. The adult spit out or dropped one piece of giant squid, as shown in this photograph. When I retrieved the giant squid fragment, it was ice cold.
    sperm-whale-with-architeuthis-giant-...tif
  • Segment of an Architeuthis giant squid feeding tentacle (tentacular arm) that was left in the water by a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) after it breached. This squid arm fragment measured 351 centimeters. Note the suction cups, which are lined with finely serrated teeth made of chitin, which help the squid grab and hold prey.
    architeuthis-giant-squid-feeding-ten...tif
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