Transcript:

Just as the Loch Ness Monster and other assorted underwater beasts that lurk underwater have captured the human imagination, so has another creature that was immortalized in the science fiction classic, "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea." And this animal is real. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by DuPont. We're talking about the giant squid.

"They belong to the realm of mystery and romance, but the giant squid is a certainty. We're standing in front of a specimen right here in New York City."

The squid that scientist Neil Landman describeCs is floating in a tank at the American Museum of Natural History. It was transported there in a block of ice from New Zealand, where fishermen accidentally caught it their in net. The squid was already dead, and in fact no one has ever seen a giant squid alive. But it's easy to see why the animal inspires fear.

"The giant squid is the biggest invertebrate on our planet today, so you don't get any larger than this. Giant squids can grow as long as seventy feet. The eyes in this animal over here are about six inches in diameter, but in some specimens they're as large as a foot, the size of automobile hub caps, and so these are the largest eyes in the animal kingdom."

If you were to make calamari rings of the giant squid, they'd be bigger than tractor tires. But size isn't the only thing that's dramatic about this animal.

"This is the mouth over here, the mouth is surrounded by arms, there are eight arms, all equipped with suckers and then there are two long tentacles and the tentacles too are equipped with suckers that are ringed with teeth. It's these tentacles which extend bungie-cord like and just shoot out and capture the prey back to the mouth and to the arms."

We'll hear more about the giant squid, in our next program. Pulse of the Planet is presented by DuPont, bringing you the miracles of science, with additional support provided by the National Science Foundation. I'm Jim Metzner.