the most mysterious, reclusive animal on the planet is as long as two schoolbuses, can weigh up to two (boneless) tons and has the biggest eyes on earth. Architeuthis, the giant squid, lives in total darkness in the deep ocean, finding its way to the surface only rarely, when dead or nearly so. Even so, these creatures have inspired legends of sea serpents and other maritime monsters, from the Scylla of Homer's "Odyssey" to the dreaded kraken. Their titanic battles with sperm whales gave the giant squid a reputation for ferocity. Actually, it's the whales who attack the squid, and almost always win, and no one knows how aggressive the massive invertebrates actually are. (A smaller — as in 10 foot-long — relative, the Humbolt squid, has been known to attack humans when given the opportunity.) Scenes like the memorable submarine/giant squid battle from the Jules Verne novel (and Disney film) "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" have slight basis in fact.
Aiming to be the first human beings to observe the giant squid "in its lair," a team led by Dr. Clyde F. E. Roper of the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution will embark on an expedition to the coast of New Zealand in January. Marine artist and author Richard Ellis, who has written about Architeuthis in two books, "Monsters of the Sea" and his most recent exploration of deep ocean fauna, "Deep Atlantic," plans to come along, gathering material for his next book, which will be completely devoted to the giant squid. Salon caught up with him at his home in New York City.
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The creature no human being has ever seen alive
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